A Hero Returns to the Battlefield
by Sleeping0Dragon
Summary: Set one year after Dirge of Cerberus, Cloud continues to establish a normal life for himself until he is warned of a new threat that would endanger all the lives on Gaia. Rated M for Violence and Language.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII or its characters.  
**

**Prologue: The Mysterious Dream**

**Present Day: Location: ?**

Cloud was lost. No matter where he looked, he only saw white. His vision was clouded so he could only see a glimpse of the things around him. The place felt surreal as if he was dreaming. Dazed and unsteady, he felt that his body was not his own. He tried to move his arms and legs, but they felt too sluggish and uncoordinated as if refusing to obey what he wanted them to do.

When he had thought that he was alone, he felt a presence behind him. He quickly turned around and saw a large blurry object. After concentrating for a few seconds, he was able to make out that the object was in fact a figure of a person shrouded in silver light. The person had on black leather boots, steel belts, gauntlets and shoulder pads. A familiar large broadsword ran down his back and his spiky black hair was reminiscent of somebody he knew.

"Ah, Zack," Cloud said after finally figuring out who the person standing in front of him was. Cloud was surprised that he had almost forgotten his old friend that he was eternally indebted to for saving his life.

"Took you long enough to realize it's me," Zack laughed as he slapped Cloud on the back. "You looked like you've just seen a ghost."

"I think I am looking at a ghost…," Cloud said with a look of confusion. "I mean, you're dead. So am I dead too?" Once again, Zack laugh at the confused Cloud.

"Oh yeah, I _am_ a ghost." Zack said with a slight grin. "I keep forgetting about that. Maybe it's because I still feel so _alive_." Zack then began a set of squats. Seeing Zack filled with abundant energy, Cloud was glad that Zack remained the same even in death. He was about to ask Zack about some other questions until he remembered where he was.

"So where am I?" He looked around him to find anything to indicate where he was.

"This isn't the afterlife if that's what you're thinking. You're currently dreaming so it's like a dream world that connects your world with the afterlife."

"This feels too real to be a dream." Cloud touched his hair, arm and clothes to see if he could properly feel them.

"Well this isn't a normal dream and the specifics are too technical for me to understand," said Zack as he scratched the back of his neck. Not wanting to get too deep in something he wouldn't understand, Cloud decided to get straight to the point.

"So why am I here?"

"Ah, I think it's better if you hear about it from her."

"Her?" As if on cue, another figure appeared by Zack's side. She wore a pink dress and a red jacket. She had long brown hair tied by a pink ribbon. Yet another ghost appeared in front of Cloud.

"Aerith."

"What, that's it?" Aerith exclaimed. "Where's that terrified and confused look I was expecting?" Aerith shook her head back and forth as if she was really disappointed by Cloud's lack of a reaction.

"I did told you that you should have appeared with me at the same time," Zack said as he lightly touched her arm. "We could have gotten Cloud to faint inside the dream after seeing two ghosts. It'd be a very memorable reunion wouldn't you think?" After contemplating Zack's statement, Aertih broke out in laughter along with Zack. Cloud watched as his dearly departed friends share a joke between them at his own expense. He wondered if the two of them were always happy-go-lucky people. He had always thought that if he saw them again, it would be a touching yet serious reunion. Cloud then wondered if he was really dreaming.

After gotten the last remaining laughs out of her system and wiping away nonexistent tears of laughter, Aerith's expression quickly turned grim.

"Jokes aside, we do have something important to tell you." Looking at Aerith's face, Cloud could tell it wasn't going to be anything good. "I feel that something dangerous is going to appear endangering the lives on Gaia."

"What do you mean that you _feel_?" Cloud asked feeling worried about what he had just learned.

"Well, it's more like that is what the planet felt a while ago so I don't really know what it is."

"Yeah, so keep your guard up and be on the lookout," Zack interjected. "Although, I'm sure you can handle whatever it is." Zack gave Cloud a comforting smile to help relieve him of his worries.

"Is that all you know?" Cloud asked, hoping to get more information to understand the situation.

"Unfortunately yes," Aerith said shaking her head. Cloud reflected on what he had just heard until he realized something else.

"How is it that you can contact me?" Aerith closed her eyes and placed the index finger of her right hand on her forehead.

"Hmmmummm." Aerith fidgeted back and forth as if she was really bothered by the question. There was a ten-second gap when Aerith struggled to find the right words and the moment she opened her eyes. "I used Cetra Power!" Complete silence then enveloped the area while Aerith continued to smile.

"R-Right," Cloud stammered. Whatever answered he was expecting, it was definitely not the one Aerith just gave. He thought it was best to just accept Aerith's response because there really was no need to go into that particular detail.

"You should know that it takes a lot of energy to bridge our world and your world so I can't do it every time. We actually only have a few minutes left before you have to go back." A few moments then lapsed with nobody saying anything as they all became lost for words.

"So, how are you Cloud?" Zack asked, in an attempt to change the subject. The question took Cloud by surprised.

"Huh, oh I'm…doing good," Cloud said after thinking about his life.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Cloud said with a smile of content on his face.

"That's good to hear," Zack said after a brief pause. Even though he was smiling, there was a hint of sadness in his tone. As Aerith silently watched the two friends talk, she felt a warm feeling accumulating in her heart. Even though she was not sad that she had died, she was saddened by the thought that her friends would be hurt because of her death. Zack had felt the same way about Cloud. However, it seemed like Cloud had moved on peacefully and was living a good life. She hoped that her other friends had moved on peacefully as well.

"What about you Zack?" Cloud asked. "How are you doing?"

"Me?" Zack grabbed Aerith to him and held her. "I'm great because I have Aerith by my side." Zack stood proudly as he held Aerith from behind. "Not a bad place to stay for all eternity." Cloud then looked at Aerith who held onto Zack's arms.

"I'm great too, Cloud," Aerith said while giving Cloud a smile of peaceful content. "It's pretty fun having _him_ around. Plus, I get to watch over all of _you_."

"I see," Cloud said while giving a light nod. Aerith then let out a soft sigh.

"Looks like our time's about up," Aerith said. "When you wake up, you won't remember what transpired here, but we felt we should still warn you." Just then, Aerith and Zack began glowing brightly as if they were going to dissipate into nothing. "Cloud, it was really nice to see you again."

"The same goes for me too," Zack said. "Remember, we're always with you in spirit. And Cloud..." Zack looked at Cloud for five seconds before finishing his sentence. "_Our_ legacy, you're doing great; so keep up the good work." The two of them smiled at Cloud. Unbeknownst to Cloud, tears streamed down his face as he had finally heard the words he wanted to hear and he has now found peace within himself. Seeing the two begin to disappear, Cloud reached his right hand towards them.

"Wait, there are still things I want to talk to you about." Aerith and Zack said nothing, but smiled at Cloud. Zack gave a slight wave and the two then completely disappeared.


	2. Chapter I

**A/N****: Hello Readers. I think I should give some explanations about what this story is about other than what is shown in the summary. My goal is to the best of my abilities bring the story of FFVII to a satisfying conclusion. Even though Advent Children did provide closure, I felt that it was somewhat unsatisfying. Dirge of Cerberus was a spinoff that only left more questions. Therefore, I would like to use this opportunity to create an ending that I would enjoy. Furthermore, I will try to tie all of the FFVII medias together to create a consistant link between all of them. To accomplish that, I have to fill in the empty spaces creating original story elements while maintaining a certain level of consistency. I might have to adjust certain "canon" parts to make everything flow better. **

**Chapter Notes:**** In the prior chapter, Cloud told Zack that he was happy. This chapter will give a glimpse of why that is and will show the many sides to Cloud's character which is dependent on the different situations. Furthermore, this chapter will establish the unique bond between Cloud and Tifa, which will be important later in the story. **

**Without any further ado, let's begin...**

**Chapter I: The Sleeping Beauty and the Yellow Bird**

**Present Day: Cloud and Tifa's Room**

Cloud opened his eyes to the barely illuminated room. For some reason he was short of breath and his head ached as if he fell down a set of stairs. Something wet yet warm slowly slid down his face. Confused by his condition, Cloud tried to wipe his face with his right arm, but he found that something warm and soft was restricting his arm. Trying even harder to move his arm, he felt he couldn't exert any strength into the arm at all. Turning his head to get a better look, he saw Tifa facing him in her sleep and resting on his right arm. Strands of her long silky dark hair covered her beautifully shaped eyes and her exquisite lips formed a smile as if she was remembering the time when the children were cured of Geostigma.

Mirroring Tifa's smile, Cloud moved a few strands of her hair out of the way with his left hand. In response, Tifa made a few unintelligible sleeping noises and snuggled closer to Cloud. While admiring her face, Cloud felt he was truly at peace. Even though he clearly did not feel the same way yesterday, he felt that something had changed in him overnight. He kept trying to remember what had changed him, but all he could recall were vague images covered in light. After a while, he decided he wouldn't remember anything about it and that it would be better to just move on.

Instead of going back to sleep, Cloud continued to watch the sleeping Tifa. Even though the two of them had become a couple, Cloud still felt embarrassed looking Tifa directly. Only after facing his personal demons and other literal demons did Cloud got a chance to relax and get a good look at Tifa. He had always used "saving the world" as an excuse to avoid thinking about Tifa, but now he couldn't use it anymore because the world is at peace. No more Sephiroth; no more people who looked like Sephiroth; and no more people relating to Shinra's experiments. Without them, Cloud became cautious of Tifa's existence and he was always staring at her when she didn't noticed. It was like his childhood all over again. A very awkward time.

He thought that Tifa liked him, but he wasn't sure because she never said anything. Furthermore, he didn't understand women at all. He barely understood himself. Then came a day he would never forget where she outright told him she _loved_ him. It was such a shocking moment that he stared at her for five long minutes with his mouth opened so wide that a fly could have easily gotten in and out of his mouth without him realizing it. Then something cracked as if a dam had just been broken, causing a massive flow of memories regarding Tifa to enter and drown his thoughts. Memories of her at the well. Memories of meeting her again at Midgar. Memories of her "finding" him. Memories of her opening the bar. Memories of her berating him about his past. Memories about him by his side, while saving the world. Finally, the memory of her confessing to him five minutes ago. All of them were very important and irreplaceable memories to him. There can only be one answer so he told Tifa that he loved her too and kissed her on the lips catching her by complete surprise. A lot more happened afterwards, but Cloud decided to stop his brief reflection here because he always felt embarrassed recalling the memory.

Just when he thought he had enough images of Tifa swirling around in his head, a faint soapy smell enticed Cloud. The smell was clearly coming off Tifa. Wanting to get a better smell, Cloud inched closer and closer to Tifa until he was only an inch away from her face. He was so close that he could get a good whiff of her, but decided against it. She would probably wake up if he got too close to her. He wanted her to sleep in because she had spent hours helping Marlene with a school project. In addition, he didn't want to come off as a pervert should the likely chance that Tifa would wake up at that moment. He planned to remain a closet pervert until the day he died. Releasing an inner sigh, he hesitantly pulled away from her.

It had been a few minutes since he woke up and the room had become noticeably brighter as more rays of light penetrated the darkened room. Looking at the clock on the wall, Cloud realized that it was already 6:10a.m. Instead of going back to sleep, he thought that he might as well start the new day. Carefully and slowly with meticulous care, Cloud lifted Tifa up and pulled his arm back without waking her up. It was a process that took about 3 minutes long.

Tiptoeing out of room, Cloud headed downstairs to the first floor bar. Along the way, he looked into rooms of the other occupants. Denzel lay sprawled across his bed somehow knocking his blanket onto the floor. After returning the blanket to its rightful place, Cloud left Denzel's room and looked into Marlene's room. Unlike Denzel, Marlene slept peacefully with the blanket covering her body from neck to toe. She was a perfect example of a peaceful sleeper.

Leaving Marlene's room, Cloud finally looked into his old room now occupied by the child looking Shelke. At a glance, she appeared to be a peaceful sleeper as well with the blanket lying in its correct position. However, on closer inspection, Shelke's arms and legs were so straightly aligned that she appeared to be constricted in a coffin. Cloud could not detect any movement or breathing and most people would believe that she had died in her sleep. It was definitely an eerie scene to step into without any warning. Luckily, Cloud had already gotten used to it after about viewing the scene ten times that he would prefer not to remember. Without spending more than a second looking inside his old room, he went downstairs into the garage.

Sleeping beside his motorbike Fenrir, was the last occupant of his humble and peaceful home, Sunny an adult Chocobo. Never in Cloud's wildest dream would he thought of sharing a roof with a Chocobo. Even now, he still wasn't sure why he even got the Chocobo. All he knew was that Yuffie was the cause of everything.

* * *

**8 Months Ago: Cloud's Garage**

It started on a day when he was at home repairing Fenrir because of a little accident on the road during one of his deliveries. He was busy with the process of removing some of the parts when Yuffie gingerly stepped into the garage with a devious smile on her face.

"What do you want Yuffie?" Cloud asked without looking up from where he was working. For some reason, he had a strange sense of foreboding that something bad was going to happen. It was Yuffie after all.

"OOOOhhhhh nothing much, just that there's something you might like…," Yuffie said, the devious smile still pasted on her conniving youthful face.

"No," Cloud answered quickly without any hesitation. He had to refuse at the earliest chance he got before she got any other ideas. However, Yuffie was undeterred and was adamant in explaining herself. Putting on her "sweetest" smile that came off as very insincere, she said, "Come on Cloud, I know you would buy him if you knew who he was."

"Him?" Cloud asked when he heard something about a sale of a "person". Without realizing it, Cloud had already begun falling into Yuffie's trap.

"Curious aren't ya?" Yuffie sneered at the Cloud who was ensnared within her grasp. Her devious smile returned to her face as she clapped her hands twice. "Come in Sunny". In walked a beautiful shiny golden feathered adult Chocobo. He stood about 6 foot and a few inches tall. Full of curiosity about where he had just entered, the Chocobo moved around the rundown garage inspecting the various trinkets and objects in the garage.

It was strange sight having a Chocobo scurrying around in Cloud's garage full of steel, oil, tools and parts. It was like seeing Barret reading in a library. They just didn't belong.

"So Cloud you interested?" Yuffie asked still wearing her best sales smile.

"You want me to buy a Chocobo?"

"Yes."

"A Golden Chocobo?"

"Yes."

"With my meager salary?"

"Yes."

"Even though you know Tifa will say no?"

"Yes."

Surprised with Yuffie's insistence, Cloud was left dumbfounded and couldn't utter another word. Letting her words sink in, Yuffie refrained from saying anything else. The only sound that could be heard in the garage was the noise that the Chocobo was making while moving around.

"No," Cloud said in a flat tone after a few seconds of silence.

"But Cloud!" Yuffie screamed, suddenly clinging to Cloud's shirt.

"H-Hey, let go," Cloud protested, trying to yank the surprisingly strong girl off him.

"If you don't buy him, then he's going to DIE!" Yuffie shouted while still clinging onto Cloud. With the mere mention of death, Cloud weakened his efforts to get Yuffie off even though he didn't completely stop.

"What do you mean he's going to die?"

"Wellll, he's not going to die per se, but he's going to be extremely unhappy living the life of a racing Chocobo if you don't buy him. He's the type of Chocobo that likes to be around a friendly family environment otherwise he will die of sadness if he has to be somewhere else." Sensing that Cloud was still skeptical about the purchase, Yuffie tried to appeal to a different sense of morality. "Come on Cloud, you're not going to let a family member die are you?"

"What family?" Cloud asked, perplexed of the idea that the Chocobo was somehow his family.

"Oh, you know," Yuffie mumbled, looking at Cloud's hair before averting her eyes.

"What was that?" Cloud said, growing angry for some reason.

"Nothing," Yuffie said, now sporting sad puppy dog eyes, which did absolutely nothing to Cloud. "I know I can't convince you, but can you say no to him?" Yuffie pointed at the Chocobo. Cloud turned his head to the Chocobo that suddenly, now had sad puppy dog eyes on his face. After a few seconds of looking into the Chocobo's eyes, a sad feeling of guilt struck Cloud's inner core.

"Tch, all right fine," Cloud said, finally giving in while scratching his head furiously because of his inability to say no. Whatever happened to those days when he could simply say, "Not Interested" and be done with it? Feeling the tension leaving his body, Cloud fell into a crouch. Not looking up he asked, "So, how much does he cost?" After hearing Cloud's answer, Yuffie silently mouthed the word "sucker" and silently jumped for joy. The Chocobo also squawked in happiness as well.

"Just 30,000 gil," Yuffie said nonchalantly.

"30,000!" Cloud shouted after hearing the outrageous amount and jumped back onto his feet. "With that much money, I could get several HP up materia."

"Don't worry, I got it all figured out," Yuffie said, completely unfazed at making a friend pay so much money. "You can pay me in installments of 5,000 gil per month for 6 months. It'll be fine so don't fret." Yuffie tapped Cloud's shoulder to alleviate some of his worries.

Sighing, Cloud suddenly remembered something important. "Can Chocobos even live in a place like this?" Cloud asked, spreading his arms to indicate his home.

"Yeah sure. Chocobos can adapt just about anywhere. Plus, haven't you seen some Chocobos around Edge already?" Cloud did recall seeing a few Chocobos appearing around in Edge. People have recently been purchasing them as an alternative to vehicles because of its price and the price for fuel. After thinking about it some more, he realized that it would be nice for Tifa and the others to have a mode for transportation other than walking. All the worries about buying the Chocobo had suddenly dissipated from his mind.

"Looks like you agree, so just sign here," Yuffie said, cheerfully pulling a piece of paper seemingly out of nowhere. Cloud took a few seconds scanning the document that summarized Yuffie's offer and signed the paper.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you Mr. Strife," Yuffie said as she took the paper back. "Oh, I forgot one thing." She walked out of the garage and immediately returned with a hefty looking bag. "For being such a good customer, I give you this complimentary bag of Greens."

"Thanks". Cloud grabbed a few Greens and began feeding the Chocobo who flapped his wings in merry content. While scratching the back of the Chocobo's head, Cloud asked, "his name is Sunny, right?"

"That's right. He's perfect to brighten this dreary place." Yuffie looked around and admonished the bland scenery.

Suddenly, Cloud heard a door open in another room, sending shivers down his spine. Tifa had undoubtedly just returned home from grocery shopping and Cloud suddenly remembered that he just purchased a 30,000 gill Chocobo. He became so agitated that sweat began pouring down his face.

"I'm back," Tifa shouted from the other room. Seeing the look on Cloud's face, Yuffie thought of an interesting idea.

"Hey Tifa, looked what Cloud bought," Yuffie shouted as she ran through the garage to the other room. Deciding to disperse from the scene and avoiding Tifa's wrath, Cloud looked at the inoperable Fenrir. Cursing silently, he looked around until he spotted Sunny.

"Come on Sunny, let's run to freedom!" Cloud jumped on Sunny who squawked happily at the prospect of going out for a run. Using the limited knowledge he had acquired as a Chocobo Jockey, Cloud maneuvered Sunny out of the garage and out to freedom. Of course, Cloud couldn't stay away forever so he had to eventually return home finding a fuming Tifa and a smirking Yuffie. Tifa admonished Cloud for what felt like hours about living frugally and saving money. She said other things too, but Cloud had zoned out throughout the ordeal.

Luckily, Marlene and Denzel were ecstatic about owning a Chocobo, which they played with everyday. Tifa eventually warmed up to Sunny as well. She couldn't hide the fact that she found Chocobos cute and endearing for very long. Sunny also helped Tifa transport things such as groceries, which she found very helpful. Shelke was indifferent about the whole thing though.

As for Cloud, he sometimes had private talks with Sunny when he didn't want to particularly talk to anyone else. He soon found that Sunny was like a kindred spirit who he could easily talk to in a strange sort of way. He swore that Sunny seemed to completely understand him.

To accommodate Sunny, Cloud remodeled the garage that made room for Sunny to live in. He created new windows to let the air in and built a nest in the corner of the garage. He even cleaned the garage every week to keep it sanitize.

However, not everything went smoothly as he found that his funds were depleting because of the cost for Greens and the cost for remodeling the garage. Thinking that he had to give up Sunny, Yuffie approached him about selling his materia to her. After talking about it with Tifa, they agreed to sell all the materia they acquired for 200,000 gill. Cloud was fine with selling the materia because he didn't need them in times of peace. As for where did Yuffie get 200,000 gill from, Cloud did not know and did not care to know. Although, he suspected Yuffie's Chocobo charade was meant to acquire his materia because he later learned that Yuffie had swindled a Chocobo Jockey out of his prized Golden Chocobo.

* * *

**Present Day: Cloud's Garage**

Upon walking into the garage, Cloud was met with the soothing hum of a sleeping Chocobo. Sensing another presence within a few feet of him, Sunny let a yawn escape him and then stood up to welcome his visitor.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Cloud asked as he scratched the top of Sunny's head.

"Chirp, chirp."

"You're right, it's a bad habit to sleep in on a great day like this," said Cloud nodding to the Chocobo's great wisdom.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp."

"Is something bothering me?" Cloud was surprised at how observant Sunny was to the people around him." Scratching his neck, Cloud replied, "I guess I had a bad dream. I don't remember what it was about, but I woke up with tears in my eyes and a slight headache."

"Squawk."

"Don't worry about it? I guess if it's important then I'll remember it sooner or later."

"Remember what?" came a voice a few feet behind him. At the sound of the voice, Cloud quickly turned around and saw Tifa standing at the doorway wearing only his long white t-shirt that reached a few inches above her knees. When his gazed shifted downwards, he couldn't help but stare at her beautiful long legs. They were so white and smooth that he wanted to rub his hands all over her them. Then he remembered that it would make him too perverted then what he liked to be.

"Umm, did you say something Tifa?" Cloud asked after remembering where he was.

"I asked you what you were trying to remember." Tifa began growing irritated by Cloud's "zoning out" episodes.

"Oh, just about what color underwear you have on." Cloud accidentally blurted out the last thought he had on his mind.

"What?" Tifa cried out in a high pitch voice and her face flushed a bright crimson red.

"Uh, I mean, um, I-I was just trying to remember if I washed my underwear yet…" Cloud stammered as he tried to come up with an explanation. Watching the bumbling Cloud, Tifa quickly got over her initial embarrassment and thought of something interesting she wanted to try out. Putting on her best seductive smile, she placed both of her hands on the bottom hem of the t-shirt.

"SSooo, you want to know what color underwear I'm wearing huh?" Tifa purred in a deep sexy voice while moving the t-shirt up a few centimeters. Hypnotized by Tifa's words, Cloud moved his head in sync with her hands.

"Yeah…" Cloud answered as he continued staring at Tifa's hands.

"Then-have-a-good-nice-look," said Tifa taking her time with each word and egging Cloud on. Hearing nothing but his rapid beating heart, Cloud held his breath in anticipation for a great mystery to reveal itself. Tifa was moving at such a slow pace that it felt like an eternity to him. Cursing himself silently for selling his materia, he wished he had the Time materia so he could cast Haste to speed things up.

Just when he thought that his agony would never end, Tifa abruptly pulled the t-shirt up to her navel. Eyes wide in surprised, Cloud didn't saw any underwear. Instead, he saw a pair of white cotton shorts. Laughing at the stunned Cloud, she said, "Can't believe you fell for it. Now I know why Yuffie messes with you all the time." Regaining his composure after realizing what had happened; Cloud moved to the corner and crouched near Sunny.

"It seems you're my only friend in the world so we got to stick together right?" said Cloud after a depressed sigh.

"Squawk".

"Cloud," Tifa said after calming down. With a soft smile on her face, she said in a suggestive manner, "Tonight, you might actually get to see it." Without giving the time for Cloud to react, Tifa left the room still smiling.

"Sunny, it seems I might get lucky tonight," Cloud said uncertain about Tifa's forwardness as he fed the Chocobo some Greens.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Cloud, Tifa was still nearby and had listened to him talk about getting lucky. Embarrassed about giving such an invitation to Cloud, Tifa lightly hit herself on the head for being on idiot trying to act like another person. She thought she had to act differently now that she and Cloud was a couple. Everybody expected her to be the mature one and lead the inexperience Cloud, but the truth was that she too was inexperience about love and relationships. She found that sleeping with Cloud in the same bed was all she was currently comfortable with now, even though she entered uncharted territory "that night". Letting out a sigh, she hoped that Cloud would forget about what she had said so their relationship could progress at a more natural pace.

* * *

After changing clothes, Cloud sat on a barstool at the counter watching Tifa make breakfast. The memory of the recent event was still fresh in his mind.

"So Tifa, a-about tonight," Cloud said nervously as he scratched the back of his neck.

"It was a joke, a joke," Tifa chuckled. "So don't worry about it." Feeling strangely relieved, he decided not to pursuit the issue for now. After taking a sip of his coffee, he heard an energetic young voice coming from the stairs.

"Morning Cloud, Tifa," Marlene said as she entered the bar in a cheery mood.

"Morning Marlene," Cloud and Tifa said in unison as she sat down on a table by the window.

"Morning," Denzel said still feeling drowsy.

"I'll have breakfast done in a bit," Tifa said. With a slight nod in confirmation, Denzel went to Marlene's table and sat down.

"What job did Reeve gave you?" Tifa suddenly said in an attempt to change the mood. Noticing that Cloud had a grim expression on his face, Tifa realize that it was something serious so she moved closer to him.

After looking at his reflection in his coffee for a while, Cloud looked up into Tifa's eyes. "Monster hunting."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter full of comedy and CloTi fun. Even though this chapter was on the light side, the story will become more serious later on. Because of that, I wanted to insert some comical interactions with some of the cast members before getting to the serious stuff. Regarding Cloud's final dialogue, I actually found it funny reading it over because it reminded me of the game "Monster Hunter". Even though it may sound funny to you as well, the line was supposed to mention the important event next chapter. So when the next chapter comes, expect action scenes, interesting relevations, and more mystery. Lastly, Please write a review stating whether you enjoyed or did not enjoyed what you had read. I'm fine with one sentence reviews.**


	3. Chapter II

**A/N:**** First: I like to thank ****sunflowerspot**** and ****Hana Hannah**** for their reviews. It gave me a boost of encouragement to continue writing this story.**

**Second: This action-packed chapter is full of violence. This Fanfiction is rated M after all. I don't think the violence reaches the level of disturbing or explicit, but I'd like to give a warning just in case. **

**Third: R&R**

**Fourth: All prior disclaimers apply.**

**Chapter II: Return of the Red Swordsman**

**7****th**** Heaven, Bar Room**

"What job did Reeve gave you?" Tifa suddenly asked Cloud as he was silently drinking his coffee. For a moment, Cloud had a difficult time giving an answer because his mind was drawing a blank. The head pains from the morning combined with the recent ordeal with Tifa made Cloud forgot about the special job that Reeve had assigned him. Peering into the murky cup of coffee, Cloud remembered what he had to do today as well as the unpleasant feeling he had when he first learned about the job.

* * *

**The Day Before: Reeve's Office in the WRO Headquarters**

Dark blue walls and a large glass window enclosed a wide room situated at the top floor of a five-story building. The WRO leader, Reeve Tuesti's office was full of scattered paper, pens, file cabinets, reports, documents and binders. A large rectangular desk laid near the back window with dozens of paper piled high on the desk. Sitting with his head cast downwards, eyes closed and his right hand rubbing his forehead, Reeve mulled over the many problems that he had to deal with as the leader of the WRO. He was so deep in his thoughts that he did not notice that Cloud had knocked and entered the room.

Standing in the room, Cloud worried about what kind of request that Reeve wanted. Cloud usually did not work with the WRO other than for some minor volunteer work such as construction work and handing out pamphlets. There was never any need to request Cloud's personal "skills" other than with the Deepground incident. He was strangely unsettled. Watching the fatigue stricken Reeve lost in his own thoughts did not help to alleviate his worries. Convinced that he could just stand there all day without Reeve ever noticing, Cloud decided to make his presence heard.

"So Reeve, what's this about a job you wanted me to do?" Cloud asked after coughing loud enough so Reeve could hear it. At the sound of Cloud's voice, Reeve quickly opened his eyes and looked up. Cloud noticed that Reeve's eyes were bloodshot and there were many dark rings under his eyes. With few strands of gray hair coloring his head, Reeve appeared much older than he should be. Despite a year had already passed since the battle with Deepground, the WRO was clearly still overworked dealing with the aftermath.

"Ah Cloud, didn't hear you come in," Reeve said in a sleepy tone as he got up and motioned for Cloud to sit on the sofa situated in a corner of the room. Reeve then sat on the sofa opposite of Cloud.

"I'm guessing you don't get much sleep these days do you?" Cloud asked as he looked around the room that has not been cleaned since Reeve turned the building into WRO headquarters.

"Yeah, I've been really busy these past few weeks making plans for the orphanage, school, and hospital amongst other things." Cloud gave a slight nod recognizing Reeve's hard work. Feeling the uneasy tension emitting from Cloud, Reeve continued, "Although we could talk about this some other time. Let's move on to why I called you here."

"It must be really important if you called me here instead of talking it over at 7th Heaven."

"You're right, I can't have anyone overhearing this matter," Reeve replied in a low tone. "I don't want a public outcry on my hands." Cloud felt the room temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees as he braced himself for the things to come. "Have you heard about the recent string of monster attacks lately?"

"I have…" Cloud said uneasy about where the discussion was heading. "I don't know much about it though."

"Within the past few weeks, a few people around Gaia are getting attacked by monsters even though they did not venture far from the city or town. It seemed like the monsters are becoming more aggressive if they had gotten that close to civilization. There have also been a few fatalities as a result." Cloud had heard about a few monster incidents from people during his deliveries. However, he did not encounter any of the "aggressive" monsters from the rumors.

"Do you know any other details?"

"Unfortunately no," Reeve replied shaking his head. "There were only a few incidents here and there that the Turks could not acquire any useful information during their investigation. Although, it could just be a normal case of monster attacks and I'm making a big deal out of something small." Frowning, Reeve looked out of the window at nothing in particular.

"But there's something else…" Cloud said as felt that Reeve was still hiding something. After about 5 seconds, Reeve turned back to Cloud.

"There was something in the investigation reports that worried me," Reeve said solemnly. "All of the eyewitnesses described the monsters as "demonic" looking."

"Demonic?" Cloud asked quizzically.

"Dark, horrifying and possessed. Essentially, they looked EVIL." Cloud closed his eyes and pondered what he had just heard. Something about the monsters' description had unnerved him more than it should have. The reason might be that no incidents have occurred since Deepground and he kept expecting something big was about due. He did felt as if he was on the edge of his seat lately. If this monster problem is the "big" event that he feared was due, then he had to do something about it.

"So what do you want me to do?"

"Yesterday, I got a report stating that there was a sighting of these "demonic" monsters around Kalm. Tomorrow, along with a few men, I want you to investigate and exterminate these monsters before they cause any harm."

"Alright, I'll take the job," Cloud said after thinking about the plan for a few moments. "How many people are you sending?"

"You'll be accompanied by 5 WRO infantrymen and 2 3rd Class GUARDIAN members." GUARDIAN is the WRO's elite combat specialists group. The group was practically identical in many ways to Shinra's SOLDIER group except the members do not have mako enhancements. Noticing that Cloud was looking uneasy after the talk, Reeve continued, "You know, it's been a long time since I told you your fortune haven't I."

"Uh, yeah…" Cloud said surprised at the random change in topic. Reeve then got up and went to his desk opening a drawer. Taking out a gadget with buttons, levers and a half foot antenna, Reeve pressed a button and move the two levers with his thumb. A few seconds later, in hopped a familiar 4-foot tall stuffed pink Moogle before stopping next to Cloud.

"Let's see what fate has in store with you," Reeve said as he pressed a few more buttons. After the Moogle made some grinding noises, it opened its mouth revealing a three-inch slip of paper. Cloud took the paper and read over its contents. "So what does it say?" Reeve asked sincerely curious about Cloud's fortune.

"You are cursed with bad luck so live your life with caution," Cloud read with a dour expression. "I think this might be the most accurate fortune you ever told." Cloud sighed and threw the paper away into a nearby trashcan.

"Well that's a bummer isn't it?" Reeve laughed at his ill-fated friend. "And to make matters worse, I can only pay you 5000 gil for the job."

"That's fine, especially for a one time gig."

"You're right about that. And you can use it to pay off your Chocobo if you haven't done so already."

"I already did," Cloud smiled at the reminder of another bad fortune. Extending his right thumb to point at the door, he said, "He's actually parked out front."

* * *

After Cloud left his office, Reeve had replaced his earlier smile with a deep frown. There was something else about the "demonic" monsters that he did not tell Cloud. The monsters' description reminded Reeve of an incident a few years back that made him concerned. Because he had no definitive evidence, he did not want to mention it at all to Cloud. However, if he was correct that the monster problem now was somehow connected to the previous incident, then something big was about to happen.

* * *

**Present Day: 7****th**** Heaven**

"Monster hunting," Cloud said after a brief moment.

"It's not a normal monster hunt is it?" Tifa asked wondering why Cloud looked uneasy.

"The monsters… they seemed to be different than normal," Cloud answered after trying to find the right words. "Although, it's probably nothing at all and it's just my imagination." Cloud waved his right hand back and forth in an effort to brush away Tifa's worry. She knew that Cloud was not being completely truthful, but decided against pursuing the matter. Without another word, she placed her right hand over Cloud's hand. Noticing the Fenrir ring on Tifa's hand, Cloud looked up to see Tifa smiling. Realizing that she was trying to comfort him, Cloud returned the smile with one of his own. There existed a powerful bond of trust between the two forged from the many memories they shared.

"Breakfast, Tifa!" Marlene suddenly shouted from across the room. Quickly, Tifa removed her hand and went back to cooking with a slight flush on her face. Cloud looked away in an embarrassed grin pretending to examine a crack in the wall.

"It's ready!" Tifa shouted to Marlene and Denzel after a few seconds later.

* * *

"Are you doing something for the WRO, Cloud?" Denzel asked after finishing his breakfast. Tifa had gone to help Marlene get ready for school and Cloud had remained on the bar counter.

"Yeah, I'm going to beat up some monsters," Cloud said in a jokingly manner.

"Can I come with you?" With all of the humor gone, Cloud's expression became grim.

"No, it's a little dangerous for you right now."

"I see…" Denzel said in a depressed tone as he looked downwards.

"Well, how about going with me on my next delivery?" Cloud asked in an attempt to cheer the boy.

"Really!" Denzel exclaimed with eyes full of sparkles and hopeful anticipation.

"Of course," Cloud answered as he brushed Denzel's head. The two then suddenly heard a car honk from outside. "It looks like my ride is here."

"See you later then," Denzel said, waving his hand in a dazed manner because his mind was still distracted by the upcoming trip. Cloud then walked to where his sword, Laevatein hung in its complete form near the garage. After sheathing the sword inside the holster attached to the back of his belt, he turned around to see a sleepy looking Shelke standing in front of him.

"Are you heading out to Kalm now?" Shelke asked in an emotionless tone.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"I heard a couple of people over at WRO talking about it," Shelke replied with a slight hint of concern that Cloud had noticed.

"Are you worried about the monster problem as well?" The foreboding feeling that had quietly retreated from the back of his mind had returned in full force.

"Well…I don't know why, but the situation bothers me…" Shelke whispered quietly.

"Leaving already?" Tifa suddenly asked as she stood with Marlene near the base of the stairs.

"Yeah," Cloud answered as Shelke head into the bar to eat breakfast. Apparently, she didn't want to discuss the topic anymore.

"Bye-bye Cloud." Marlene said as she waved her hand. "Come back soon."

"Be careful out there," Tifa said softly. Taking a moment to look at Tifa, Cloud gave a nod to acknowledge her warning and then left 7th Heaven. Outside, two trucks full of WRO soldiers were parked waiting for him. Upon seeing Cloud exit the bar, one soldier dressed in black baggy pants, long sleeve shirt and a helmet jumped down from the truck.

"This way sir," the soldier said motioning for Cloud to get on the other truck. Without being asked twice, he climbed aboard the back of the truck and waited until the mission began.

* * *

Cloud was on the road for about 10 minutes and his truck was driving a few yards ahead of the second truck. With nothing particular to do, Cloud killed time by watching the scenery go by. It was not particularly interesting; full of dirt mounds, rocks and few grasses and trees scattered throughout, but it was a different experience. He traveled the world for his delivery business, but he was always the one driving and therefore had to look out for obstacles on the road. Now, he could relax to a certain degree as someone had taken over that responsibility.

Just when Cloud was starting to relax, he heard a small cough. Turning his head, he noticed the other two passengers sitting with him on the back of the truck. The two did not utter a single word the whole time that Cloud forgot that they had existed. After getting a good look, Cloud realized they were the 3rd Class GUARDIAN members sent to accompany him because they did not wear the standard WRO soldier uniform. The unruly brown haired young man sitting directly across from appeared to be in his early twenties. He wore black leather pants with a silver belt, black boots and gloves. His black leather jacket had a white fur trimmed collar. Underneath he wore a simple white t-shirt. Noting the color of the young man's clothes, Cloud silently admired the young man's sense of fashion. Resting by the young man was a four-foot long gunblade. With a bored expression on his face and arms crossed, the young man looked into the distant focusing in nothing particular.

Next to the man sat a young woman with the same bored expression on her face as the young man. She also appeared to be in her early twenties as well. Her light pink hair was tied in a ponytail that rested on her left shoulder along a green pauldron. She wore a sleeveless white coat and a brown shirt underneath. She also had blue fingerless gloves and brown boots on her feet. Contrary to her rough demeanor, she wore a miniskirt that reached a few inches above her knees and her figure was quite slim. She appeared to have a gunblade, which was currently sheathed in its case. Resting one elbow on the edge of the truck with her hand cupping her chin to support her head, she stared listlessly into the distant.

"What are your names?" Cloud asked curious about the pair.

"Squall Leonhart," the young man answered.

"Lightning Farron," the young woman answered.

"Squall and Lightning, huh," Cloud mused. "You both have terrible names."

"Whatever," Squall replied indifferently.

"I don't think you should talk," Lightning said growing irritated. Despite the emotionless aura she emitted, it seemed like she was the type of person with a short fuse.

"You know who I am?" Cloud asked careful not to get on the woman's bad side.

"Cloud, the Wolf with Six Blades," Lightning said completely unimpressed. "Everybody at WRO has heard about the person who defeated Sephiroth." Cloud's fame had become widespread in the recent years because of his participation in preventing Meteorfall and his victory over the world famous Sephiroth. Furthermore, Yuffie tried to capitalize on Cloud's fame by spreading the name "Wolf with Six Blades" to increase his popularity. Suffice to say, Yuffie succeeded and Cloud became as well known as Sephiroth during the Wutai War. Yuffie then sold products that used his name or image such as action figures, posters, postcards, and hair products. He even appeared on a cereal box. In the end, Yuffie's venture had netted quite a profit.

"You're completely different from what I imagined," Squall suddenly said eyeing Cloud from head to toe. "You're thin and not very tall at all. And what's with your hair." Thinking that Squall was the strong silent type, Cloud was surprised when Squall all of a sudden bombarded him with many judgmental opinions. It seemed that Squall was the type to keep a lot bottled in until he is inclined to say something.

"Well…" Cloud had begun a retort, but had abruptly stopped because he sensed the presence of monsters nearby. Before he could shout a warning, he saw a four-legged beast monster jumped onto the other truck and clasped its jaw onto one of the soldiers' neck, dragging him off the truck. Cloud heard a mixture of loud screams and the screeching of tires as the truck attempted to stop. "Let's go!" Cloud calmly ordered Squall and Lightning to engage the enemies. Before the truck had completely stopped, the three jumped off and did a forward roll upon impact to lessen the damage received. Using the momentum of the roll, the three jumped to their feet and dashed to where the other truck had crashed.

Within seconds, the three came upon the attack on the WRO soldiers. Using Cloud's superior vision, he could barely see three WRO soldiers surrounded by six beasts. One of the soldiers had a bloodied arm, probably caused by one of the beast's claws. Off a few feet away laid the body of a soldier in a pool of blood. His neck was rip opened revealing large mass of blood and flesh. Cursing silently, Cloud turned back to the scene at hand. The soldiers had their back to a tall cliff while firing their assault rifles at the beasts in the front. The beasts paid little heed to the bullets and crept closer and closer to the soldiers. Before they could get any closer however, Squall and Lightning began firing their gunblades at the beasts even though they could not see the targets well from the distance. It was enough however to land a few hits. Annoyed, three of the six beasts turned around and charged at the newcomers.

While Lightning and Squall continued to fire, Cloud ran toward the stranded soldiers. When one of the beasts reached Cloud, it jumped towards him in an attempt to bite his neck, but Cloud did a quick spin narrowly dodging the attack. Cloud left the beast and continued forward noticing that a beast was attempting to pounce one of the soldiers. Quickly, Cloud jumped a few feet in the air and did an overhead strike that sliced off the beast's neck.

"Thank god you're here," said a soldier trying to catch his breath as if he forgot to breathe during the attack. Cloud could hear the other one breathe out a sigh of relief.

"Move closer to the wall and do not fire unless one of them breaks through!" Cloud ordered. "You're only going to do more harm than good." Without arguing, the three soldiers went further back to the cliff. One of the soldiers began bandaging the wounded soldier's arm. Cloud then turned around and observed the beasts. On closer inspection, he noticed the beasts were much larger than the beast monsters that inhabit the surroundings. These snarling beasts stood almost five-feet tall. Their fangs were large, dripping with saliva and their claws appeared to be sharper than knives. Gray fur covered their muscular body and their eyes were crimson red. They certainly do look demonic. Sensing that they were about to attack, Cloud readied his sword.

* * *

Around the same time, Squall and Lightning had engaged with the other three beasts. Switching to close quarters combat, they stopped firing and began attacking the beasts directly with their blades. Giving each other room, the two spread apart from each other. Two beasts stayed with Lightning while the other one chased after Squall.

After getting enough distance away from Lightning, Squall turned around and readied his blade. When the beast jumped towards him, he swiftly sidestepped out of the way and used the momentum to cut the beast on its side leaving a foot long gash. Seeing that the beast was still breathing, Squall gripped his sword with both hands and slashed the beast with all of his strength, cutting open its back.

Before Squall could celebrate however, three more beasts appeared and immediately began attacking him. Squall struck the first beast in the head before evading the second beast's attack. Before the third beast can attack, he tried to attack it, but the beast caught Squall's sword in its mouth. To get the sword free, Squall slammed his fist down the beast's head until it let go. Feeling the presence of the other beasts behind him, he rolled away to the side. However, he was a split second late as one of the beasts had clawed his back.

Once he got back on his feet, a burning sensation spread across his back. Ignoring the pain, Squall released a multitude of slashes to the nearest beast, killing it. Turning to the second beast that had jumped towards Squall, he slammed the beast back down using his blade, which cracked its skull. Quickly, Squall turned to where he thought the last beast was, but it was not there. Before he could do anything else, he was knocked forward as the last beast had jumped onto his back. Scrambling to get away, Squall felt a sharp pain coming from his right arm as the beast had clamped its jaw onto the arm, refusing to let go.

* * *

When Squall had left the scene, Lightning had run in the opposite direction with two of the beasts following her. After about twenty seconds, Lightning came to a stop. The beasts then simultaneously charged Lightning, but she easily evaded the attacks as she backflipped into the air and then subsequently cut one of the beasts before landing. The attack did little to the beast as it and the other one had already continued the assault. After swiftly dodging to the right, Lightning quickly launched a counterattack to a beast. After making a few slashes to the beast, she moved back to avoid the other one. While Lightning did not have considerable power, she had great speed and agility, which she used to evade the beasts' attack and made the necessary counterattacks.

After a few minutes, the hit and run tactic left one of the beasts dead. With only one beast remaing, she forwent the need to evade and went all out with her attacks. The rapid attacks were sufficient to kill the already injured beast. Thinking that the battle was over, Lightning let down her guard and did not notice another beast approaching to her right. When she finally did noticed, she backflipped to evade the beast, but it was too late as the beast collided with her in the air. She was knocked a few feet away before landing facedown on the ground. Hearing the panting beast running towards her, she scrambled to get on her feet. Realizing that the beast would reach her before she could evade or attack, she braced herself for the attack. However, she felt no pain as a burst of bullets sprayed the beast from afar, stopping it in its track. Before getting a look at her savior, she took her sword and cut off the beast's head.

"Heeyyyyy, are you okay?" A soldier yelled as he ran towards Lightning. He was the soldier that had been driving the truck with the three combat specialists.

"Yeah," Lightning answered as she brushed off the dirt on her skirt and coat.

"Where are the other two?" the soldier asked as he looked around.

"Don't know about Strife, but Leonhart should be over there." Lightning pointed to the direction that she had come from. The two then hurried to reconvene with Squall.

In a little more than a minute, the two saw Squall on the ground with a beast attempting to bite off his arm. Changing her gunblade to gun mode, she placed a well-aimed shot into the beast's head, knocking him off Squall. Before the beast could get back up, Lightning jumped high into the air and slammed the sword onto the beast, killing it. The soldier immediately ran to check on Squall's wound. His arm was full of small wounds and two large punctures. Bright red blood flowed out of the wounds.

"Can you go on with that injury?" Lightning asked as the soldier bandaged Squall's arm.

"Y-Yeah," Squall lightly groaned as the soldier tightened the bandage. "As long as I don't have to do anything arduous, I could just use my other arm."

"Then we better get back to Strife. He could be attacked by who knows what and these beast monsters are definitely not normal at all."

"Right, but if he's really as strong as people say he is, then he should be fine."

* * *

Confronted by two demonic beast monsters, Cloud kept calm and observed the monsters' movement. The beasts appeared to react in a similar manner, moving side by side, as they kept their eyes focused on Cloud. Then after what felt like ages, one of the beasts leapt forward, but Cloud was ready and he sliced the beast in half while it was in midair. Without giving time for the other one to react, Cloud thrust his sword forward and pierced the beast through its face, killing it.

"All right, you did it!" a soldier cheered as he ran towards Cloud.

"Wait!" Cloud ordered the soldier as he sensed the presence of other beasts. His suspicions were confirmed when six more beasts appeared at the scene. Seeing the soldier run back to the cliff, Cloud ran toward the six charging beasts. When the first beast had reached Cloud, it lunged at him, but Cloud swung his sword from left to right knocking the beast to the side. The next two beasts moved to Cloud's sides, surrounding him. They leapt forward prompting Cloud to backflip out of the attack. In a wide arc, Cloud swung his sword from left to right and killed both of the beasts in one fell swoop.

By this time, the other three beasts were upon Cloud. One of the beasts had quickly jumped toward Cloud. With not enough time to do anything else, all Cloud could do was raised his sword and blocked the beast using the flat part of the sword, barely preventing the beast from biting Cloud's neck off. Still keeping the beast at bay, the second one had reached Cloud's feet and tried to claw his legs. Before it could succeed however, Cloud kicked the beast squarely in the jaw and knocked it into the third beast. With room to breathe, Cloud pushed the first beast away and sliced it in half before it could do anything else. He then finished the remaining two in a similar fashion.

Cloud had a feeling that more beasts would appeared so he kept his guard up. In no time at all, ten more beasts appeared and had already begun running towards him. After focusing his energy, Cloud slammed the sword onto the ground, which released a large blue beam of light towards the beasts. Upon contact with the closest beast, the beam shredded the beast into pieces and divided into three separate beams. The separate beams had each came into contact with three other beasts and they all met a similar fate as the first one.

Pressing a switch on the Laevatein, Cloud ejected the hollow blade out of the large sword. The hollow blade was a single edged blade that was similar in length to the core main blade. With the hollow blade in his left hand and the incomplete Laevatein blade in his right, Cloud jumped forward and attacked the remaining five beasts in a barrage of quick cuts. He attacked one of the beasts using the Laevatein and almost simultaneously, attacked another with the hollow blade. After evading the next two beasts' claw attack, Cloud struck the both of them down. With the advantage of wielding two blades, Cloud was able to attack at a quicker pace and his incredible strength enabled him to fell the beasts in only one strike.

Cloud looked around for the remaining beast, but he could not locate it until he heard a scream from behind him. Turning around, Cloud saw the remaining beast had somehow bypassed him and was about to jump on one of the soldiers. Quickly, Cloud pressed another switch on the Laevatein and took out one of the side blades that were the length of a dagger. He threw the blade and it pierced the beast in the leg, which made the beast fell down. Not wasting any time, Cloud ran toward the beast and struck it down.

After waiting for about a minute, Cloud thought there were no beasts left and he began to catch his breath. Only then did he realized that he was kind of tired as beads of sweat poured down his head. It had been a while since he had engaged in such an arduous routine.

"I think were fine for now," Cloud said, as he resembled the Laevatein. He could hear the other two breathe out a sigh of relief. "We'll stay here for now so the others can catch up with us." As if on cue, Cloud saw Lightning, Squall and another soldier running towards him.

"Whoa, what happened here?" the soldier asked, shocked at the scene. He was not the only shocked one as Lightning and Squall both had similar expression on their faces. Looking around, they saw eighteen beast carcasses with most of them cut in half. Dark red blood splattered all over the scene. Cloud's sword was also drenched in the same blood. To a random passerby, it might seem like a massacre had occurred.

"Looks like you're the real deal after all," Lightning complimented, finally looking impressed.

"Can you sign my cereal box?" the just arrived soldier asked.

"Uh, maybe later," Cloud replied. "First we should call in and report what had happened here."

"Alright, I'll do it," Squall said as he took out his cellphone.

"What happened to your arm?" Cloud asked after noticing the bandage on Squall's arm.

"Just a scratch," Squall said as he punched in a few numbers. Before he could completely dial the number however, the seven of them heard a thundering quake.

"What was that?" Lightning asked as she looked around.

"Whatever it is, it's definitely big," Cloud replied. None of them uttered a single word as the thundering boom got louder and louder until the source of the noise was practically next to them. With a loud roar, a Behemoth appeared directly above them on the cliff. The Behemoth, like the beasts, had gray fur and sharp claws and fangs. Its' eyes glowed red and it was like a much larger version of the demonic beasts.

"Run!" Cloud ordered. The seven of them had run about twenty meters before the Behemoth jumped down the cliff. The Behemoth's landing released a powerful shockwave that knocked a soldier off his feet.

"Grab on!" Cloud cried to the soldier. After pulling the soldier back on his feet, the two of them continued running. Not letting its prey escape, the Behemoth went down on fours and hurried after them. After only 15 seconds, the Behemoth had caught up to Cloud and the others. Fortunate for them, they had reached an open clearing. "Everyone spread out. You infantrymen split into two groups, each surrounding the Behemoth's sides and attack it from the distance. Lightning, you circle behind it and attack from there. Squall, you provide support fire while I hold it bay at the front."

The others moved into position per Cloud's commands. Watching the people scattered about, the Behemoth moved towards one of the infantry group. Without giving the Behemoth a chance to attack, Cloud dashed forward and struck the Behemoth in its' side. The Behemoth let out a loud cry as it stood upward on its hind legs. Now standing almost two stories high, the Behemoth scanned the vicinity to pick the easiest prey. Lightning had disappeared, and the infantrymen were too far away. That left only Cloud and Squall. The Behemoth bent down and tried to grab Cloud, but he had used that opportunity and jumped onto the Behemoth's arm. Cloud then ran up the arm and tried to attack the Behemoth's head, but the Behemoth's other arm knocked Cloud away. With a simple backflip, Cloud landed safely on his legs before dodging the Behemoth's follow up attack.

In an attempt to distract the Behemoth, the infantrymen and Squall began firing at it. Lightning had also begun attacking the Behemoth's back. Irritated, the Behemoth quickly turned around and swiped Lightning into a nearby rock. Before the Behemoth could follow Lightning, Cloud attacked one of its legs from behind, knocking it down on one knee. Cloud then cut off one of the Behemoth's arms as a follow up. Continuing the assault, Cloud jumped onto its' back and slammed the sword down the Behemoth's head, knocking it down. Jumping a few feet back, Cloud focused his energy. Seeing that Cloud was not moving, the Behemoth got on fours and charged at him, blinded by fury. Once it reached within striking distance, Cloud unleashed all of his energy in one swing into the Behemoth's head. The resulting impact knocked the Behemoth twenty feet away in the air. It then landed with an explosive earth-shattering boom.

After thirty seconds had passed, everyone was convinced that the Behemoth had died. Cloud ran to where Lightning laid to check on her condition.

"Are you okay?" Cloud asked as he extended a hand.

"Yeah, just a bit shaken up." Drips of blood were streaming down Lightning's head.

"Alright, let's g…" Before Cloud could finish his sentence, he felt a sudden flash of pain in his head.

"_ne…threat…the planet."_

"What's wrong?" Lightning asked, noticing that Cloud had flinched mid-sentence. Confused, Cloud suddenly felt a familiar unsettling presence, Sephiroth. Turning to the presence, he saw a short brown haired man suddenly standing a few feet away. His face was an emotionless state. He wore black leather pants, a black belt and boots. Over a gray shirt, he also wore a large red coat. While not evidently doing anything, Cloud could feel that the man was emitting a powerful wave of energy. Reflected in the man's glowing eyes, was a hint of madness. A slight grin then appeared on the man's face.

"Everyone, fall back to the truck, now," Cloud ordered as he felt that the man was too dangerous for the others to take on. "Tend to your wounds. I'll be back when I take care of this." Without arguing, the others scurried away leaving Cloud and the mysterious man alone.

After the others had disappeared from view and without any warning, the man materialized a five-foot long red blade and charged toward Cloud. With barely enough time to defend himself, Cloud raised his blade to block the man's thrust. The collision pushed Cloud a few feet back. Undeterred, the man continued to thrust his sword all over Cloud's body. For each thrust, Cloud had only managed to block the attack by a split second. Each attack pushed Cloud further back. The man was incredibly fast and he showed no signs of stopping. He attacked with such precision and speed that Cloud did not get a chance to launch a counterattack. Furthermore, the man's strength was undeniably strong. At the least, the man had the abilities of a 1st Class SOLDIER.

To buy himself time to counterattack, Cloud jumped a few feet backwards. Ejecting the hollow blade, Cloud went on the offensive using the two blades. Cloud stopped the red blade's attack with his hollow blade and then struck the man using the other blade. However, the man jumped backwards to avoid the attack.

"Who are you?" Cloud demanded. "What do you want?" The man only smiled and did a lightning quick thrust that Cloud barely stopped using the two blades.

"The name's Genesis, remember it," the man said as he let out a laugh.

"Genesis?" Cloud mused as he pushed back Genesis' attack. For some reason, he found the name "Genesis", familiar. Still trying to recall the reason, Cloud continued to block and attack Genesis. Cloud then jumped high into the air and dived down, intending to strike Genesis. However, Genesis quickly disappeared and then reappeared behind Cloud. Sensing that Genesis was about to cut him from overhead, Cloud brought the Laevatein over his head and successfully blocked the attack. Keeping the Laevatein where it was, Cloud turned around and made a horizontal cut with the hollow blade. However, Genesis ducked, leaving Cloud wide opened. Without any time to defend the next attack, Cloud was stabbed deep in his left shoulder.

Ignoring the pain, Cloud kicked Genesis in the stomach, knocking him away. The sword that was stuck in his shoulder had disappeared and then reappeared in Genesis' hands. Only then did Cloud finally remember the name Genesis. About 10 years ago when he just joined Shinra's military, a 1st Class SOLDIER betrayed Shinra and took a few SOLDIER members along with him. That SOLDIER was Genesis Rhapsodos and presumably the same man in front of him.

"I thought you'd died," Cloud said while panting for breath.

"I see you've heard of me," Genesis said as he stopped his attack. "If Sephiroth can come back from the dead, then so can I." Even though he was confused at the mention of Sephiroth, Cloud continued to attack. He attacked with such high speed cuts that all Genesis could do was evade the attacks. Even though Cloud was keeping Genesis on the defense, Cloud had yet to connect a blow.

Changing plans, Cloud created an opening between the next attacks on purpose. Taking the bait, Genesis tried to stab Cloud in the chest. Quickly, Cloud reformed the Laevatein and parried the blow, knocking Genesis off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, Cloud struck Genesis with all his might, but Genesis blocked it in time. However, even though Genesis had blocked the attack, he could not apply enough strength that his sword was sent flying. Intending to attack the weaponless Genesis, Cloud struck him again. However, Genesis had disappeared again. Looking around, Cloud spotted Genesis standing atop a boulder, a few feet away.

"Not bad at all for the legacy of Project S," Genesis applauded. "However, don't expect the next time to be the same."

"Wait, what are you planning?" Cloud demanded.

"Soon, the gods of old will bring a new world order," Genesis answered before disappearing. Even though Cloud did not understand what Genesis had meant, he realized he had to move on. Taking out his cellphone, he called Reeve.

_"What's the situation, Cloud?" _Reeve asked, betraying a hint of concern.

"We were attacked by a large number of beasts. Then a Behemoth appeared. There was one casualty. And also…" Cloud hesitated as he thought about the best way to tell Reeve about Genesis.

_"Did something else happened?"_

"Yeah, do you remember a man named Genesis?"

_"…Yes,"_ Reeve replied after a pause. _"What about him?"_

"He's apparently back. I fought him, but he left in the middle of the fight. He said something about a new order and old gods." There was a long pause on the other line. Cloud thought that Reeve was busy digesting the new information so Cloud did not interrupt him.

_"All right Cloud, I'll take care of the Genesis problem on my end," _Reeve answered after a while. _"I'll send some men over to take care of your wounds and to retrieve the monster samples so we can study them. As of right now, your job is finished so good work."_

After Cloud hung up the phone, he thought about Genesis' sudden appearance and his vague words. He did not know what it all meant, but he was worried about the future nonetheless. His newfound peaceful life had just abruptly ended.

* * *

Back at Reeve's office, Reeve was pacing back and forth. His anxiety was adding to his already abundant stress. When Cloud had mentioned that Genesis had returned, his suspicions had been confirmed. The appearance of these new monsters shared similarities with the Genesis monsters from a few years back. Reeve did not know why Genesis had returned. All he knew was that he could not handle the situation alone. Taking out his cellphone, he called Rufus Shinra.

**A/N**: So this chapter was quite long. I originally intended it to be a ten page chapter, but it somehow became twenty. Oh the joy of writing.

FF Fans might recognize Lightning and Squall in this chapter. Before anyone gets any ideas, they are merely cameos and will not greatly affect the story. They will not likely appear in any subsequent chapters. Their characters just sort of worked here.

Regarding Cloud's sword, it took me a long time to figure out a name. For those that do not like the name, it will be referred to as "Cloud's sword" or "his sword" most of the time.

Next chapter will make use of my creative abilities as I try to answer one of FFVII's big mysteries. Although, the chapter won't come out anytime soon because I plan on taking a break from writing. I had neglected much of my schoolwork to work on this chapter so I need to get back on track with my studies. Cursed this shitty life of mine.


	4. Chapter III

A/N: It's good to be back and I come bearing presents in the form of chapters.

Hana Hannah: I don't think I'm talented or anything like that. I'm rather average when it comes to creative writing, but thank you for the compliment nonetheless. Regarding your writing abilities, I suggest to continue working on your stories and develop your abilities over time. Just remember that English is a hard language. My primary language is English and I still have a hard time understanding it. So just keep at it.

The following chapter had turned out quite interesting. In the previous chapter, I said something about creativity and answering a mystery. It's best to disregard it for now because the chapter turned out quite long and I couldn't fit it in for this chapter. How long was it? About 70 pages. So what I did was to divide that chapter into three parts; the first one is below, which sets up the subsequent chapters.

The character Meryl that is introduced in this chapter is "Moogle Girl" from Advent Children.

Beginning this chapter, I'm going to introduce a date system to help bring events into perspective. It's not that important now, but will be in the next chapter. Please note that it is merely an approximation and not the exact date that things happened. I don't take into account the months.

2011: Present Day

2010: Dirge of Cerberus Events

2009: Advent Children Events

2007: FFVII Events

2002: Nibelheim Incident

1992: Wutai War Begins

1986: Cloud is Born

1977: Sephiroth is Born

Well, that was a lot of information so let's get this chapter started...

* * *

**Chapter III: The Legendary Master**

**Present Day: Area between Edge and Kalm**

A loud frustrated sigh escaped Cloud's mouth as he thought about all that had happened since he climbed aboard the WRO truck for a simple mission. Well, it should have been a simple mission, but it quickly spiraled into a disaster. Over a dozen demonic beasts and a monstrous Behemoth attacked him. The attack left one dead and many injured; then there was Genesis. He never personally knew Genesis, but Cloud found him unsettling nonetheless. For a brief moment, he felt that Sephiroth had returned. Was it his imagination? Cloud was beginning to feel like it was. Obviously, there was nothing similar about Genesis and Sephiroth other than they were both 1st Class SOLDIERs. They did not use the same weapon nor did they look the same. Convinced that it was just his imagination, Cloud thought about something else that bothered him.

The fact that Genesis was at the scene implied that he had something to do with the monster attacks. On the other hand, was that simply a coincidence? Not likely because Genesis attacked him, right after he dealt with the monsters. Then there were Genesis cryptic message and his warning for next time. What did it all mean? Cloud could not even venture a guess. Letting out another frustrated sigh, he thought he should have read more books so he could understand villains and their diabolical plans.

Cloud noticed the other passengers on the WRO truck were giving him strange looks. Too exhausted by the mission, Cloud paid them no attention as he waited for the truck to arrive at Edge. It had been a long day for him. After he made the call to Reeve, Cloud spent half the day looking for any signs of the demonic monsters. He wanted to make sure that the area was as safe as possible and he did not want any more deaths to happen because he was negligent in securing the area.

After Cloud was satisfied that there were no more demonic monsters, he checked on the WRO crew that Reeve sent after their phone call. The crew had procured all of the monster samples and tended to the wounds of the injured. By then, the sun had already begun its descent and people were returning home to their family for a nice warm dinner. Cloud was no exception. After patching up the wound that Genesis had inflicted on Cloud's left shoulder, he hopped aboard a WRO truck heading back to Edge.

Based on the surroundings, Cloud calculated that he would arrive at Edge in about 5 minutes. Regardless, he felt his eyelids slowly drooping as his fatigue had finally caught up to him. Thinking that he was only going to take a brief rest, Cloud closed his eyes. Before he knew it, he fell asleep thinking about what Tifa made for dinner.

* * *

**Edge: Outside 7th Heaven**

"Hey, wake up!" a voice shouted. Somebody was shaking Cloud's body back and forth. Confused, Cloud slowly opened his eyes and saw a WRO soldier trying to rouse him awake.

"H-Huh, where am I?" Cloud asked as he slowly looked around.

"We're in front of 7th Heaven so if you want to get off here, then you'd better do it now. Otherwise, you'll be going on a city tour of Edge as we drop off the others."

"No, I'll get off here," Cloud said as he let out a yawn. Stretching his arms, he picked up his sword and jumped off the truck. The soldiers on the truck said farewell before leaving off into the distance. Turning around, Cloud walked to the door and noticed a handwritten note on the door that said, "7th Heaven opens at 8 pm today. Sorry for the inconvenience." Surprised that Tifa would delay the bar's opening from 7pm, Cloud opened the door and stepped inside. A waft of something pleasant entered his nose.

"Welcome back Cloud." He encountered an echo of excited cheers from Marlene and Denzel as soon as he stepped through the door. Tifa was behind the counter while Marlene, Denzel, Shelke and Meryl were sitting at a table.

"Good evening, Denzel invited me over," Meryl greeted, her Moogle doll sitting on the table near her. After acknowledging Meryl's presence, Cloud noticed that the people sitting at the table had suddenly become solemn and the room became so quiet that Cloud could hear the muffled voices outside.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked quizzically. Without saying anything, Tifa walked up to him and touched the patch on his left shoulder.

"Are _you_ okay?" Tifa inquired, her face masking a silent concern as Cloud slightly flinched upon her touch.

"I'm alright Tifa, it's just a flesh wound," Cloud said as he took Tifa's hand off his shoulder.

"Really?" Tifa narrowed her eyes, clearly unconvinced as she gazed at Cloud's blood soaked sword.

"Yeah, but anyway, why haven't you opened the bar yet?" Cloud asked, in an attempt to change the subject. Cloud saw that it was about 7:05.

"We thought we wait for you before eating dinner because you probably would be hungry when you get back."

"That's right," Marlene chimed in. Cloud looked at the smiling Marlene before looking at Denzel who nodded his head. Feeling the warm familial love towards him, Cloud became a little embarrassed.

"Yes yes, so can we eat already?" Shelke groaned as she lightly tapped her spoon and fork on the table. "I haven't eaten lunch yet so I'm a _little_ hungry you know?" Cloud did not eat lunch either, but he refrained from saying anything to avoid a fight.

"Alright, let's get dinner started." Tifa clapped her hands and headed behind the counter to get the food. Cloud went into the garage to check up on Sunny and placed his sword away before heading back into the bar. Taking a seat at the table, he noticed the large hot pot filled with chopped brown meat, carrots, potatoes, beans, red peppers and tomatoes in the middle of the table. Everyone also had a bowl of rice.

Feeling the accumulated saliva overflowing and leaking out of his mouth, Cloud swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Beef stew had always been his favorite food since childhood. After finding that out, Tifa had often cooked that dish for him when he returned from a far delivery. Thanks to Tifa, Cloud began associating beef stew with "home."

Cloud took the large ladle and scooped up the beef stew's various contents before pouring it over his rice. Taking his spoon, he began wolfing down the food like there was no tomorrow.

"So Cloud, how is it?" Tifa was sitting across from him and she slightly leaned forward, eager to hear Cloud's answer.

"Erghsddd." Cloud struggled to say something with a mouth full of food. A grain of rice flew out of his mouth and landed near Marlene.

"Geez Cloud, don't talk with your mouth full!" Marlene cried.

"How does it feel to be lectured by an eight-year-old girl, Cloud?" Shelke let out a laugh as Cloud took a moment to chew before finally swallowing.

"It's great Tifa." Cloud gave Tifa a thumbs up who grinned from ear to ear; momentary forgetting about Cloud's wound.

"How did you get hurt Cloud?" Denzel suddenly asked. The room then noticeably became quieter again. Denzel's question took Cloud by surprised and therefore he did not have an answer ready to give Denzel. He could not tell Denzel the truth because it was not something the kids should be hearing.

"A-A monster took me by surprise when I thought it had already died," Cloud answered after a noticeable pause. "So Denzel, always keep your guard up until you know you have won."

"Okay," Denzel said with a smile before returning to his meal. Cloud was not sure if Denzel had seen through his lie, but he was glad that Denzel did not ask any further questions about the injury. Denzel's question had brought back memories of the fight with Genesis and after thinking it about a while, Cloud decided to pay a visit to his master.

"Denzel, you don't have school tomorrow right?" Cloud asked.

"Huh, yeah because tomorrow is Saturday," Denzel answered with a look of confusion on his face.

"I have to deliver something to my master tomorrow so why don't you come along with?"

"Really? Of course I'll go!" Denzel then turned to Meryl. "Hey, did you hear that Meryl? I get to visit Cloud's master tomorrow." Hardly able to contain his enthusiasm, Denzel jumped out of his chair and paced back and forth, as he made incoherent mumblings.

"Hey no fair, I want to go too!" Marlene shouted, her cheeks puffing like a balloon. While Marlene was mature for her age, there are times that she showed her childish side; this was one of those moments.

"Don't you have to go to Emily's tomorrow to play?" Tifa said, trying to calm Marlene down. Marlene then paused and looked straight up into the ceiling at the rickety rotating fan.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that…" Marlene had stopped protesting, but her pouting face was a strong indication that she was not entirely happy about her plans.

After Marlene had quieted down, Tifa and Shelke gave Cloud a look that said, "Just what are you planning?" In response, Cloud gave them a look that said, "I'll tell you about it later." Seemingly satisfied, Tifa and Shelke both resumed eating and Denzel went back to his dinner after he became tired of pacing back and forth.

* * *

Sitting at the table now were Cloud, Tifa and Shelke. Denzel was upstairs getting ready to sleep because Cloud told him that he needed to get up early tomorrow. Marlene was also upstairs, but she was doing her homework. There was only about 10 minutes until the bar opened, Cloud had yet to utter a single word as Tifa and Shelke quietly stared at him. Their piercing gaze only made Cloud more nervous as he thought about whether to disclosed everything or only parts of his story.

"Hmmmm, well as you know, the mission I had today was about monster hunting. About halfway to Kalm, some _beasts_ attacked the WRO soldiers and me. Well, these beasts were bigger and more aggressive then the ones that normally appeared around there."

"What did they look like?" Shelke asked.

"They had gray fur, sharp claws, fangs, and their eyes were as red as blood."

"Is that so…" Shelke pondered. After it was clear that Shelke was not going to say anything else, Cloud continued.

"Then a behemoth appeared-"

"Wait, a behemoth appeared near Kalm?" Eyes widen, Tifa was shocked at the idea that such a dangerous monster was roaming nearby.

"Yeah that's what I thought too when I saw it. It was larger than normal, standing about two stories high. It had the same color fur and eyes as the beasts."

"And that's what gave you the injury?" Hunched over, Tifa was giving Cloud her complete undivided attention as if he was telling an epic story.

"No…a man named Genesis appeared and-"

"WHAT! Do you mean Genesis Rhapsodos!" Shelke suddenly yelled before Cloud finished his sentence. She abruptly stood up and knocked her chair over.

"Y-Yeah, you know who he is?" Cloud asked, startled by Shelke's sudden outburst.

"Yes, the Deepground members were all implanted with Genesis' cells, but I never met him before."

"Wait, who is this Genesis person?" Tifa extended a palm in front of her.

"He was a 1st Class SOLDIER, just like Sephiroth." Shelke began. "And also like Sephiroth, Genesis had been implanted with Jenova's cells. The process was different though…" Cloud then had a shocking revelation, as he finally understood why he thought Genesis was Sephiroth when he first saw him. Cloud must have reacted to Genesis' Jenova cells as he did with Sephiroth. There was a possibility that Sephiroth would return.

Feeling slightly queasy from the information, Cloud felt his stomach and lungs tightened, as if he was trapped in a burning room. A dull pain spread throughout his chest. His heartbeat grew louder and louder. His body burned hotter and hotter. His eyes losing focus. The world was spinning around. Then, he felt a sudden pain in his head as if someone had repeatedly banged on his head with a hammer.

"_new….reat…he…p..ne.."_

Feeling that he was on the verge of collapse, he suddenly heard a powerful yet calming voice echo through his head. "Cloud!" Snapping back to reality, Cloud slowly looked up to see a teary-eyed Tifa, her hand tightly gripping his own. Shelke stood near him, her mouth slightly agape.

"Is everything okay?" The three turned to the doorway and saw Denzel and Marlene peeking from the doorway, their faces full of concern.

"Y-Yes everything's fine. Cloud was just choking on a pretzel. His face was turning purple like a grape so we got a little worried." Shelke let out a little laugh in an attempt to alleviate the children's worries.

With a sigh of relief, Marlene yelled, "Cloud, you should always chew before swallowing," before running back upstairs. Denzel lingered at the doorway for a while before following Marlene.

Without realizing it, Tifa's grip had tightened to the point that Cloud's hand was actually turning purple. "What happened, Cloud?"

"I was just thinking about unnecessary things, but I'm fine now so you can let go of my hand," Cloud answered in a soft almost whisper tone. Hesitantly, Tifa removed her hand and watched for any signs of wavering in Cloud's eyes. However, instead she saw a serene and peaceful look in his eyes. It was as if he never had a nervous breakdown moments ago.

"So, where did I left off?" Cloud muttered to himself and scratched the back of his neck. "Right, so I fought Genesis, but the battle was inconclusive as Genesis suddenly left. I then called Reeve and he said that he would take care of the matter; and that's the end of my story. So, any questions?"

"No, at least not any question that I think you could answer," Shelke said with a look of disappointment. Cloud turned to Tifa.

"Why are you going to your master's tomorrow?" Tifa narrowed her eyes at Cloud as if he was planning something other than a simple delivery.

"It's been a while since I've seen him, but I want to also ask him about Genesis as well."

After that, the three of them remained silent as they thought about the Genesis incident. The only sounds audible were the movement upstairs and the ticking of a clock. Looking at the clock, Shelke got up and said, "Tifa, it's about time to open the bar."

"Okay, let's stop worrying about mysterious SOLDIER people and start worrying about making money." Tifa stood up and head toward the door to flip the open sign, but not before giving one last look at Cloud. Catching her gaze, Cloud gave her a smile as if he did not have a single care in the world.

* * *

One-hour later inside the garage, Cloud was sitting on a stool with a bucket of water and a yellow liquid filled-bottle by him. He was cleaning the blood off his blade as Sunny slept soundlessly in the corner. Occasionally, he heard the few cheers and shouts coming from the bar.

Squeezing the bottle with yellow liquid, Cloud poured the shiny yellow substance across his sword. Taking a nearby discarded gray rag, he dipped it in water and began scrubbing the blade. He moved his arms in an up-down motion, slowly and meticulously wiping the sword clean. There were only a few things that he took great care of, his bike Fenrir and his blade Laevatein. If anything happened to them, Cloud would turn into an unrelenting angry demon.

There was one time where Barret had accidentally knocked into Fenrir with his truck. Without warning, Cloud punched Barret squarely in the jaw and Cid, who happened to be at the scene, punched Barret as well. Cid said something about treating machinery better before helping Cloud fix the damage.

When Cloud had to wash Fenrir or Laevatein, he would always use the cleaning agent, "Omni-Clean". The detergent had proven to be great for cleaning the various tools and equipment he had. He had only known of its existence when one day where Tifa grabbed his arm and dragged him to the kitchen where she showed off her latest discovery. With her eyes lit up in excitement, she said that she found the best thing since the discovery of materia. With a wary look on Cloud's face, Tifa took out from behind her a bottle with yellow liquid. She poured it over a coffee stain that he left earlier that day and taking a rag, she wiped the stain in one stroke. With great surprise, the stain had disappeared as if it didn't exist in the first place. From that day on, Cloud believed that it was the greatest thing since the discovery of materia.

A few minutes have passed since Cloud had begun to clean his blade. He was cleaning with such intense concentration that he didn't realized that Tifa had came into the garage until she embraced him from behind. Cloud almost jolted out of his seat, but he was able to remain calm despite his heart was beating 200 times per minute.

"W-What are you doing?" Cloud asked as he felt two soft round objects touching his back.

"Just recharging my batteries," Tifa answered like it was the most natural thing in the world. She placed her head on Cloud's shoulder and his face was beginning to turn beet red. He could smell a mixture of alcohol, cigarettes, and her unique smell. For some reason, he was beginning to calm down as he fell into Tifa's embrace.

"Will you be fighting another battle?" Tifa suddenly asked.

"If there is one, I will continue to protect this family until I no longer can," Cloud replied without any hesitation. Tifa clenched her teeth and held Cloud even tighter.

"Be careful next time," Tifa said as she gently touched Cloud's wound.

Placing his hand over hers, Cloud said, "As long as you're here to support me, I can't be stopped." The two then remained silent and inhaled each other's scent as they sat in temporary peace.

"Tifa," Cloud said after a few minutes.

"Hm?"

"We need more Omni-Clean."

* * *

**The Next Day:****7****th**** Heaven, 5:00 A.M.**

After waking up and saying goodbye to Tifa, Cloud carried the dressed, but still drowsy Denzel onto Fenrir. Once he sat down, Denzel became more awake and was able to hold onto Cloud as they sped off into the early morning. The sun had yet to come up and the air was chilly as they crossed the cold town. After a few minutes, Cloud stopped at Aerith's church. "What are we doing here?" Denzel asked.

"I just want to check up on something if you don't mind." Shaking his head, Denzel followed Cloud into the rundown church where they saw the Buster Sword in the center; a small piece missing from the blade. Four years ago, Cloud had broken off that piece and melded it into Laevatein so it would feel like Zack was fighting alongside him.

Next to the Buster Sword were two concrete slabs that stood about three feet high. On one was the name of his mother, Claire Strife; the other had the names of Tifa's parents. The slabs were meant to be tombstones for their family. Looking at his parents' tombstones again, Cloud suddenly remembered the first time he brought Tifa to look at them.

* * *

**A Few Months Ago: Aerith's Church**

"So what do you think?" Cloud asked as he extended his arm toward the tombstones. "The left one is for my family and the one next to it is for your family."

"I think it's great even though my mother already has a tombstone in Nibelheim. I don't have one for my father though so it would be nice to move my mother's here. That way, they could be together in a _special_ place." Tifa moved to Cloud's family tombstone and read the name on it. "Claire Strife…I remember meeting your mother a few times at the inn. She was a cook there right?"

"Yeah."

"What was your mother like? Because I don't remember her well."

"She was a kind woman who loved to cook," Cloud replied. Tifa could see a warm look in Cloud's eyes as he talked about his mother. "She made the best beef stew in the world."

"Was it really _that_ good?" Tifa asked with a smile.

"My favorite,' Cloud answered; suddenly feeling a little hungry. "She was also supportive of me even when I joined Shinra. Although she was initially adamant of my decision to leave, she eventually allowed me after saying something about how it was fated to be." Cloud's smile became a deep frown as he looked at his mother's tombstone. "The thing I regretted the most when I joined Shinra was that I couldn't stay with my mother. Even if she would die anyway, at least I would have spent more time with her…" Tifa didn't know how to console Cloud so she tried to change the subject.

"S-So what about your father?" That question apparently was able to snap Cloud out of his brooding thoughts.

"To be honest, I never really knew him," Cloud admitted. "Not once have I ever met him."

"Were you angry at him?" Tifa asked cautiously.

"Hmmmm…I think I was at first," Cloud replied after thinking about it. "Every time I looked at the other kids' fathers, I always thought about why my father wasn't there. I asked my mother about him and she would always say that he was busy helping people and would someday come home. So I waited and waited. As the years went by, I just grew angrier until something happened. I think I was about 6 years old when my mother received a letter. After reading it, she cried for hours and it was the only time I ever saw her cried. Even though she did not tell me, I knew that it was about my father's death. Then from that day, I never asked about my father because I knew it would only make my mother sad."

"How do you feel about your father now?"

"I guess I don't hate him because for my mother to have placed so much belief in him must mean he was probably a good guy," Cloud replied as he looked up to the ceiling. "I rather believe that he was a good person than a deadbeat father."

"Thanks for telling me," Tifa said softly as she held Cloud's hand.

"Thanks for listening," Cloud said with a smile as he gripped the hand that held his.

* * *

"Cloud!" Denzel's loud voice nearly made Cloud jumped out of his skin.

"Hmmm?" Cloud asked a little confused at what had happened.

"Tifa said to stop spacing out," Denzel said, sounding a little irritated.

"Sorry." Cloud scratched the back of his neck and watched as Denzel took a close-up look of the Buster Sword.

"I want to someday become a great hero and wield a sword like this," Denzel said as he gently slid his hand down the blade. Cloud remembered when he was about Denzel's age, being a hero was all he thought about. If Denzel were anything like Cloud, then in a few years he would call a girl he liked out to a well under the starry sky and announce his dreams.

"Denzel, do you know about the 'birds and the bees'?" Cloud asked out of nowhere.

"Yes, I learned it in school," Denzel replied with both irritation and a little embarrassment.

"I see," Cloud said, relieved that he didn't have to explain the origins of life. "Shall we go?"

"Yes please."

* * *

After leaving Aerith's church, the two headed toward Suncoast Port, which was directly west of Midgar. The port was built recently to provide the people of Edge an alternative port on the continent. Having a port close to Edge had shortened Cloud's delivery time by a substantial amount and in only a year, the port had seen the most activity out of the other ports.

After arriving at the port, Cloud parked his bike inside the ship's hold and he stood at the ship's deck with Denzel. After 10 minutes, the ship began its early morning voyage to Wutai. Soon, Cloud would meet his master; someone who he hadn't seen in two years. Even after all these years, Cloud still couldn't believe that he was able to make the acquaintance of such a strong person.

* * *

**2008: A House in Southern Wutai**

Cloud was standing outside a small white cottage in Southern Wutai. The house was situated next to the coast as Cloud heard the roaring waves of the ocean. From his point of view, he could see two slabs of rocks that stood out from the many rocks that inhabited the place. Other than the rocks that surrounded the house, there was nothing of notable interest or any signs of life. It was the middle of nowhere, a perfect place for a hermit to spend the remaining days of his life.

It wasn't often that Cloud would visit such a remote place, but he had to for a delivery and to look for someone to train him. After his fight with Sephiroth a few months ago, he realized that he wasn't strong at all. He was sure that he only stopped Sephiroth because he had help from his friends. His desire to become strong only increased when he became guilty of Aerith's death and believed that he was unfit to protect anyone. If there was another crisis to the planet, he wanted the strength to protect those he cared for.

Cloud believed that he could become strong if he could find someone who was much stronger than he was. That someone was likely Auron Kusanagi, the person who was supposed to receive the package he was carrying in his arms. Cloud had noticed the name when he was going through his delivery orders. Something about the name struck him and he soon remembered a rumor that he heard when he was a Shinra infantryman. Apparently, Sephiroth had a master who taught him the skills he used during the Wutai War. However, that person had left SOLDIER the same year that Cloud joined Shinra so he never met him. He only heard the name Auron Kusanagi, the One-Eyed Dragon. Hoping that the man in the house was the same man in the stories, Cloud knocked on the wooden door and announced himself.

After waiting for a few seconds and not hearing anybody or anything, Cloud turned the doorknob and realized it was unlocked. He opened the door and entered a large room with only a wooden table, a fireplace, and an old black couch. On the table was a rather large white jug. On top of the fireplace displayed a large single edged Odachi (large Japanese blade) and a silver stiletto. The only sounds in the room were the crackling of the fire and the gentle snoring that was emitted from the couch.

Cloud moved a few steps into the room and saw that a man in his 40s was sleeping on the couch. He was wearing a red haori (kimono jacket) that was kept closed with a black strap. Underneath the haori was a black shirt with a large collar that covered the bottom part of his face and his left arm was tucked out of the haori's opening as if he was in a sling. On his legs were black leggings and on his feet were shoes with brown straps and metal plating. A golden ribbon held back his long dark hair with gray streaks.

"Just leave the package at the door," the man suddenly grumbled with a wave of his hand, he apparently not asleep. Cloud could not see the man's face because his head was turned away form him.

"Are you Auron Kusanagi?" Cloud asked as he put down the package.

"Yes so just leave already." The man was getting agitated as if Cloud's presence had woken him from a peaceful slumber.

"Are you THE Auron Kusanagi who trained Sephiroth?" Cloud persisted. At that, the man made some sort of grunt before turning his head to face Cloud. The initial anger on his face immediately turned into one of shock as if he recognized something. Without saying anything, Auron walked to the next room and Cloud heard him turn on the water faucet. It seemed like he was filling something with water. After a few seconds, Auron returned with a blue bucket of water and walked to Cloud. Without any warning, Auron dumped the water on Cloud's head; completely surprised at what had happened Cloud stared at Auron with wide opened eyes. Even though Cloud's hair was soaking wet, it remained standing straight up. Auron cupped his chin in his right hand and stared at Cloud with unusual interest.

"You have interesting hair," Auron muttered.

"…I guess," Cloud replied as he wiped his face with his sleeve. "I was told that I got it from my father." At the mention of Cloud's father, Auron narrowed his eyes.

"What's your name?"

"Cloud Strife." If the name meant something to Auron, Cloud wouldn't know because Auron remained emotionless. Upon closer inspection, Cloud could see a large reddish brown scar that ran down Auron's right eye, which remained shut as if it was permanently injured. His other brown eye glowed brightly, the sign of someone who went through the Mako Treatment.

"What do you want?" Auron finally asked. His tone was neither hostile nor welcoming.

"I want you to train me," Cloud said bluntly.

"What was your Class in SOLDIER?"

"I was never actually part of SOLDIER," Cloud mumbled as he scratched his neck. Auron's right eye opened wide for a moment, but quickly narrowed to its original size.

"You were never part of SOLDIER yet you have Mako eyes?" Auron asked; his interest piqued.

"It's a long story that I can tell you some other time…" Auron didn't say anything else, but only stared at Cloud with his piercing gaze.

"Were you the one who defeated Sephiroth?" Auron finally broke the silence.

"Well, not alone." Cloud looked down as he remembered why he wanted to become strong. Auron must have found Cloud's reply amusing because his eye lit up with a large smile on his face.

"That is very _fascinating_ indeed. So why would someone who is so strong that he played a role in Sephiroth's defeat want _my_ help?"

"I…I don't think I'm strong at all. I couldn't protect an important friend and besides, I had friends who helped me defeat Sephiroth. I couldn't do it alone, so I want to become so stronger so that I can protect people."

"Kind of like a hero?"

"…Not really like a hero; I don't think I can become one…" Auron had a melancholy look after he listened to Cloud. He closed his eye and remained silent as he rubbed his chin. After what felt like an eternity, Auron opened his eye.

"Do you believe in fate?" Auron suddenly asked a random question.

"I never thought about it," Cloud admitted.

"Me too…, but I'm starting to believe it if you're standing here in front of me." Cloud raised his eyebrows in confusion. After breathing out a sigh, Auron said, "I'll train you."

"All right!" Cloud pumped his fist in the air with unusual excitement.

"Before we begin, I want you to drive north into Hama Village and get me a gallon of Wutai Sake (alcoholic drink)."

"What for?"

"To drink, obviously."

* * *

Auron watched Cloud drove away on his motorcycle. When Auron met the young man, a surge of forgotten memories resurfaced from the depths of his mind. With a frown, Auron walked into a small room with a desk. Opening the drawer, he took out a green book that looked like it had been over a decade old. The cover of the book was dusty and part of the material was already deteriorating. The book had no title because it was initially a book with blank pages. He filled the once empty book with stories about his life and the important people he met in an attempt to keep their memories alive. Carefully, Auron opened the book for the first time in 7 years.

* * *

A/N: So it's pretty obvious that the next chapter is a flashback. It's going to be a very long one and will touch on an issue that was raised in this chapter. If you're still interested, click on the next chapter.


	5. Chapter IV

A/N: This chapter has a lot of language so I added the language warning to the summary for those that have begun reading this story a few weeks ago.

Unlike the previous chapters, this will be a flashback based on Auron's life so it will only include important events. So you may find it strange that the story jumps in years between events pretty quickly.

This chapter is full of my original characters so it was very interesting writing them. There are FFVII canon characters that make cameo appearances as well.

For the most part, this flashback remains consistent with FFVII canon unless there was an inconsistency that I did not know. However, I changed the origins of Angeal's sword to suit my purposes.

I'll end this note with the timeline from the previous chapter for your convenience.

2011: Present

2010: Dirge of Cerberus Events

2009: Advent Children Events

2007: FFVII Events

2002: Nibelheim Incident

2001: Wutai War Ends

1992: Wutai War Begins

1986: Cloud is Born

1977: Sephiroth is Born

* * *

**Chapter IV: The Story of two SOLDIERs that came before Sephiroth (Beginning)**

**1977: Shinra SOLDIER Training Room**

Within the state of the art training room reserved only for SOLDIER, two young boys were sitting on folding chairs. The boy with slicked black hair, dressed in a button-up red collar shirt and white khakis was a 12-year-old Auron. With a bored expression plastered on his face, he looked around the vast bright room. Dozens of expensive looking training equipment bordered the room and in the middle laid a large 30 square foot ring that levitated three feet above the ground.

Auron had recently been accepted into SOLDIER and was currently attending an orientation of sorts for new recruits. It had been about twenty minutes since he began waiting for the director of SOLDIER to arrive and running out of things to look at; Auron studied the other new recruit who sat next to him. The boy appeared to be of similar age; his hair an unruly shaggy blond, and his ragged white t-shirt and black shorts appeared to have been picked up from a homeless person. Sensing that someone was starring at him, the boy turned to face Auron.

"The fuck ya looking at huh!" the boy shouted, a look of intense anger reflecting in his large green eyes.

"Just looking at the walking piece of trash next to me." Auron retorted. "How the hell did someone that looked like he never heard of a shower make it into SOLDIER!"

"What do you know RICH BOY! I bet you never lifted anything heavier than a fork and knife." The boy looked at Auron's nametag that was pinned to his chest. "Your name's Auron? Good name for an old fragile geezer!"

"At least it's better than having a sissy ass name as Rain," Auron snapped after looking at the boy's nametag.

"Fuck you bitch!" Rain pulled back his left arm and was about to punch Auron, but he was stopped by a sudden booming voice.

"Hold it!" A man in a blue suit walked out of a nearby door. His black hair was evenly combed and he looked like he was in his 30s. "You boys certainly are energetic; already becoming friends on the first day."

"WHAT FRIENDS!" the two boys shouted in unison. The man gave out a hearty laugh before introducing himself.

"My name is Rosch and I'm the director of SOLDIER. It's nice to meet the both of you." At the introduction of the director, the two boys calmed down in the presence of their boss. However, their anger was on the verge of exploding if a single pressure was applied. Rosch looked at the clipboard he was holding and began twirling a pencil with his fingers.

"Let's see…Rain Skylight; you never had any official training, but you have however been in countless fights with opponents that are much larger and stronger than you are. Using your above average strength and your ability to adapt to any battle situation, you defeated all of your enemies. As for you Auron Kusanagi, you were from a wealthy family and had sword training since you were two years old. You were called a genius at an early age because of your ability to master difficult techniques with relative ease."

"Hmmmmm, I guess you're not just some rich boy," Rain sneered.

"Based on your records, you definitely have what it takes to be part of SOLDIER even though you're both only 12 years old. It's a good thing that Shinra doesn't have any child labor laws huh?" Finding what he said funny, Rosch let out a loud and annoying laugh while the two boys sat in awkward embarrassment. They hoped they wouldn't have to deal with their boss on a daily basis.

"Anyway, I like what I see on paper, but I'd like to see what the both of you can _really_ do."

"You want us to duke it out don't you Mr. Boss man?" Rain turned to Auron, a devious grin plastered on his face.

"I wouldn't use those exact words, but yes."

"Well what do you say rich boy? Are you up for it or do you want to call someone to do the fighting for you? Rain cracked his knuckles in a confrontational manner.

"If it means taking the trash out, then I'm good to go."

"Excellent." Rosch clapped his hands in great anticipation for the match. "You can only use the wooden swords we have because I'd rather not lose any great talents on the first day."

Clicking his tongue, Rain picked up the three-foot wooden sword displayed on the wall. "Whoa, it's heavier then it looks." Rain moved the sword up and down to adjust his strength.

"That's right, these swords may be wooden, but they're made with great quality materials so they can pack quite a punch," Rosch explained as he made himself comfortable on a chair. Auron and Rain jumped onto the ring, their eyes staring intently at each other.

"We'll begin once the coin lands shall we?" Rosch took out a gold coin and flipped it into the air. Auron had his right foot in front of him as he held the sword with both his hands. His hands were raised above his shoulder level and the tip of the sword was pointing at Rain; his body entered a battle stance. Rain on the other hand was moving back and forth as if he couldn't contain himself any longer; his sword was moving wildly in all directions.

The moment the coin hit the ground with a loud clink, Rain ran forward and closed the twenty-foot gap between him and Auron in mere seconds. Gripping the sword with both of his hands, Rain struck Auron with all his might. Surprised at Rain's speed, Auron took his sword and brought it into contact with Rain's sword. Redirecting the force from Rain's attack, Auron deflected the attack and immediately struck Rain. With a split second to spare, Rain rolled out of the way.

"To think you could stop my attack head on, I'm impressed." The fire in Rain's eyes burned brighter than before as he jumped and made an overhead strike to Auron. Sidestepping out of the way, Auron made a powerful thrust to Rain's chest. The impact made a powerful blast that launched Rain across the ring.

"I guess you were all bark and no bite huh?" Auron laughed as Rain stood up and wiped the sliver of blood streaming out of his mouth.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" Rain charged forward once again and did a horizontal strike. Auron jumped back and followed with an attack to Rain's knee. A sharp pain pierced Rain's leg causing him to involuntary reach down to his knee. Using the chance, Auron brought down a powerful strike onto Rain's shoulder, knocking him down to the floor. Determined to the end the match, Auron thrust the sword down onto Rain's back. However, he was unable to connect as he fell forward because Rain had tripped him.

Rising to his feet, Rain slammed the sword down onto Auron. Rolling out of the way and then rising to his feet, Auron attacked Rain while his sword was still touching the ground. Swinging his sword like a golf swing, Rain plummet the sword into Auron's body and knocking him away. Auron coughed up blood before slowly rising to his feet. "Fuck." Auron breathe out and placed at hand to his side. He was surprised at the destructiveness of Rain's attack; it was like being hit by a speeding truck.

"How's that asshole, having fun yet?" Rain hollered from a few feet away. After spitting out a drop of blood, Auron and Rain charged at each other. Their swords clashed with one another, both sides trying to push each other away. Feeling that Rain was getting the upper hand, Auron elbowed Rain in the eyes five times. The blows however only made Rain angrier as he head butted Auron in the forehead. Feeling the world spinning around him, Auron struggled to stay upright. Apparently, Rain suffered from a similar disorder as he stumbled around trying not to fall.

"Aww damn that hurts. Do you have a gold plate in your head or something?" Rain placed a hand on his forehead to stop the pain. Gaining his balance first, Auron dropped his sword and took ahold of Rain's arm. He then lifted Rain over his shoulder and slammed him into the ground with a heavy thud. Auron picked up his sword and once again tried to deliver the final blow before Rain took his sword and stabbed Auron hard in the stomach.

Crouching down with intense pain, Auron held one hand to his stomach while the other hand frantically searched for the sword. While not completely well, Rain was able to get back on his feet. His breathing was rapid and his vision was blurred. The both of them held their swords with one hand and placed all of their energy into one final blow. The powerful impact knocked their swords out of their hands before landing far outside the ring. With a dry raspy voice, Rain shouted, "Not bad at all."

"Ditto," Auron answered before the both of them collapsed onto the floor headfirst.

"That was excellent! I expect great things for the both of you." Rosch jumped out of his seat and applauded with such vigor that he reserved for very entertaining matches. He then walked to the intercom nearby and pressed a button. "We're going to need a medic here ASAP."

* * *

**The Day After: Infirmary**

The infirmary that was reserved to SOLDIER members was a large white room; there was only one window off to the side. A dozen clean beds filled the otherwise empty room. Auron and Rain were the only two people in the room, their arms in slings and bodies in bandages, as they lay upright on the bed. Besides the various bruises on his body, Auron had a large purple bump on his forehead. Rain on the other hand, had a swollen black eye along with other minor injuries. They both stared listlessly into nowhere, listening only to the rhythmic sound of their breathing.

The match had not only left them with many injuries, but also a mutual sense of respect for one another. Although, their pride prevented them to readily admit to such a notion. "So what's your story?" Rain suddenly asked unexpectedly without turning his head.

"What? Now you're suddenly interested in this rich boy's life?" Auron let out a hoarse laugh before he fell into a minor coughing fit.

"No, jackass! I'm just trying to make small talk here."

Auron thought that having a chat would at least be more interesting than what he was currently doing. With a sigh, Auron began. "I come from a wealth family in Wutai. Even though my life was pretty privileged, my parents and I weren't very close. They only cared about having a model son to show the world and they spent most of their time socializing with others. I was by myself most of the time. The only thing I was interested in was swordsmanship, which I began at an early age. I guess the only thing I was grateful to my parents was that they forced me to learn it."

"Sounds like a pretty sweet life to me."

"Just shut up and listen," Auron admonished Rain for his interjection. "Then one day, I was listening to some travelers telling stories about the places they've been to. I guess I just had a desire to see the world then so I left."

"Won't your parents be worried?" Rain asked in a low tone. Auron was surprised that someone as tough and independent as Rain would ask about his parents' feelings. He wondered if Rain had some kind of issue with his own parents. "Probably not. I have a four year old little brother that my parents could just easily replace me. Although, I do regret just leaving my brother behind just like that…" A melancholy mood spread throughout the room as Auron looked down into his hands with a feeling of homesickness in his stomach.

"Then what happened next?" Rain asked, now staring at Auron.

"Uh, I traveled to a few places and was then picked up by a Turk member. Then I was here and you know the rest." When Auron had finished telling his story, he was surprised that he had given a lot more details than what he originally thought. Maybe it was the first time anyone actually cared about his life.

"Don't you have this honor thing in Wutai?"

"What? If you mean Bushido, the way of the warrior, then yeah," Auron replied with a look of confusion. "I don't follow it anymore because I don't see much reason to…, but why do you care?"

"I just thought that sounds cool," Rain admitted. Auron was perplexed on how "cool" can Bushido be when he found it so restricting.

"So what about you? Did you run away from home too?"

"Not really," Rain began as he scratched his head. "I never knew my dad because he ran out on my mom when I was born. My mom raised me all by herself even though we were poor and struggled to get by. She worked long hours as a server in a bar. Life was hard, but I guess I was happy. But then the work got too much for her and she died when I was about ten years old."

Auron then understood why Rain was so keen on his own parents. Rain had actually cared about his mother and he probably missed her even now. Auron looked at Rain and was surprised to see no evidence of tears or that he was going to shed any. Rain may have been a mentally stronger person than Auron.

"After that, I guess I had to take care of myself from that day," Rain continued. "I stole, I robbed, and I did whatever it took to survive the next day. Even if that means going up against people who are bigger and stronger than me. Then I was picked up by a Turk member just like you."

"You lived in the Midgar slums?"

"Yep."

"Why did you want to join SOLDIER?" After listening to Rain's story, Auron felt more interested in the dirt poor boy.

"I want to become more powerful and take what is rightfully mine." Rain clenched his fist so hard that Auron could easily see his veins popping out.

"So, world domination?"

"I guess so." Despite finding Rain's goal childish and comedic, Auron didn't laugh at him because Auron respected him for having a dream; something that Auron did not have.

"I hope your dream comes true one day." Auron raised his fist and extended his arm toward Rain.

"Yeah, and the same to you," Rain said with a childish grin. He raised his own fist and bumped Auron's fist before the two of them broke out in laughter.

* * *

**A Week Later: SOLDIER Training Room**

Auron was running on a treadmill with the speed set at a mile per three minutes. He had been running for over an hour as countless drops of sweat washed over his face and body. Even though he had been running for so long, he felt he could go on forever. The energy that ran throughout his body was giving air to his muscles and he felt so light that he could jump a hundred feet in the air; he had already forgotten what fatigue felt like. It was because he was recently exposed to Mako as part of the Mako Treatment, which had boosted his physical abilities to new levels.

Just when Auron was about to hit the 90 minute mark, he saw something out of the corner of his eye that shortly distracted him. It only took that moment as Auron lost his footing and tripped; his head fell straight down onto the treadmill and his body was thrown far back because of the moving tread. The other SOLDIERs in the room paid him little heed as they continued working out.

Strangely, Auron didn't felt much pain as he rolled around in uncontrollable laughter. "HahahaOh man, just whhaaa." Auron grabbed his stomach as he continued to laugh hysterically.

"If you don't shut up now, I'll shut you myself," a voice said in a threatening manner. Trying to contain himself, Auron looked up to see an irritated Rain with glowing green eyes. He was wearing light blue baggy pants, a turtleneck, boots and suspenders with a large belt; the standard uniform of a 3rd Class SOLDIER. His once unruly blond hair was now standing straight up and pointing in all directions; it was like there was a yellow cactus sitting on Rain's head. Seeing that Auron was not showing any signs of stopping, Rain punched him when he was just about to get up. With new heightened senses, Auron easily moved out of the way. Because it was his first time exerting such strength since he was infused with Mako, Rain couldn't stop himself after Auron had avoided the punch; Rain's arm continued to lunge forward until he hit the wall with a loud crash, leaving dozens of small cracks.

Rain stared in shock at the destruction he had caused until he felt a finger tapped his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Krious, a 2nd Class SOLDIER in his late teens with long black hair and a face full of irritation. Pointing to the cracks he said, "THAT is coming out of your paycheck so you'd better not break anything else. Don't know why the hell kids are even allowed to join."

"Mind your own business!" Rain was about to punch the man until he remembered what just happened earlier. Seeing Rain pulled back his punch, the man walked away to the exit as laughed to himself. "Fucking Prick." Rain mumbled under his breath, barely audible to Auron.

"So what the hell happened to your hair?" Auron asked as the man disappeared behind a corner.

"Just bad, no; it was horrible luck that my hair turned into THIS!" Rain swept a hand across his hair, clearly unhappy about the change. "I can't believe it even happened. So while I was going through the Mako Treatment, some machines short circuited and a bolt of electricity zapped me. The next thing I knew, my hair was reaching for the heavens." He sighed and shook his head in dissatisfaction. "Hopefully it'll turn back to normal soon."

"Nothing you could do about it now; especially how we're supposed to go to a meeting in a few minutes."

"Dang, and here I thought I was going to work out a little. Well, not much to do so let's go and see what they have in store for us."

* * *

From that point on, Auron and Rain went through countless missions. They first did mundane work such as assisting the Shinra infantrymen. Afterwards, they had bodyguard work and played parts in the suppression of small uprisings. Despite their young age, the two had proven to be effective SOLDIERs as they accomplished their missions with relative ease. It was also inevitable that they would take the lives of another human. For Auron, he was surprised that killing people did very little to his psyche. It was not as if he found a pleasure in killing, it was just that he felt nothing at all. Rain had shown a similar mentality regarding the killing of others such that he did not appeared to have been effected at all. As the years quickly flew by, the two had continued to kill others on behalf of Shinra. They had intensely trained and improved their abilities between missions until they had both become 1st Class SOLDIERs within a short time.

* * *

**1981: Rosch's Office**

"So what do you want?" Rain asked Rosch as he stood with his arms crossed and his face full of irritation as he looked around. The office that Rain, Auron and Rosch were in was different from the other Shinra Executives' offices; personal trinkets and objects usually inhabit those offices. However, Rosch's office had nothing of the sort and it could have been mistaken for another random office in the Shinra Building. Shaking his head, Rosch turned to Rain.

"I see you're still the same rude punk ass kid."

Rain had become taller over the years, now standing at about 5'11; Auron was 6' and the both of them were now wearing black turtlenecks and baggy pants, the uniform for 1st Class SOLDIERs. The two of them looked the same as before besides the basic changes of puberty. Rain's hair however, also remained the same spiky look. The electric shock from four years ago had apparently messed with his genes as the hair refused to back down.

"So what do you want?" Rain asked again, growing more irritated as the seconds passed.

"Man, I don't know why I ever promoted you to 1st Class. You seem to get more arrogant as you increase in ranks."

"So what do-"

"Just follow me already." Rosch walked out of his office and passed a few rooms before stopping at the equipment room reserved for 1st Class SOLDIERs. The room wasn't very large, but it was filled with top quality weapons; from large halberds to small knives, the equipment room had it all. Standing side by side were two very large swords.

"Yesss, our swords have arrived," Rain said cheerily as he skipped toward the sword on the left. It was a five and a half foot long broadsword with almost a foot in width; the sword was the symbol of destructive power.

"That's the sword you asked for?" Auron walked over and eyed the sword curiously.

"Yep, I told the blacksmith to make an overgrown butcher knife."

"Now why the hell do you want a large kitchen knife?"

"Cuz, I thought it was cool." Rain smiled brightly as he traced his finger down the shiny steel.

"So what are you going to name it?"

"The Buster Sword; a sword that will bust open the asses of my enemies." Rain laughed sinisterly in a low tone.

"I was against it, but this idiot was so vehement about it," Rosch said from the doorway. "There goes Shinra's precious money."

"What did you get Auron?" Rain asked, completely ignoring Rosch. Auron grabbed the other sword, a six-foot long four-inch wide blade resembling an odachi. Without warning, Auron cut the air with the large blade leaving a powerful gust of wind in its wake. The Buster Sword almost toppled over if Rain hadn't caught it in time.

"Hey!" Rain shouted at the oblivious Auron. "Careful with that thing."

"I shall call this, Muramasa," Auron said proudly before a maniacal laugh left his mouth.

"Why is it that when they become 1st Class, they become crazy?" Rosch muttered to himself while the two 1st Class SOLDIERs admired their new toys.

* * *

**1982: The Hallway outside the SOLDIER Training Room**

After a long three hour workout, Auron was heading back to his quarters when he passed by Rain who was sitting on a bench. His shoulders were hunched over as he stared into his cup of coffee, completely oblivious to Auron's presence.

"Where the hell were you? Rosch was chewing my ass off because you just up and disappeared."

Rain looked up and stared with unfocused eyes at Auron. "Huh, what were you saying?" Auron was about to punch Rain in the face, but he saw something in Rain's face that made him stopped. Rain nonchalantly answered and scratched the back of his neck. "Oh right, I was gone for a while. I had to take care of something."

"What? Did you hook up with a girl?"

"NO!" Rain screamed before quieting back down again. "So I met this girl-"

"And you hooked up," Auron interjected.

"Just shut up and listen before I bust open your ass." Even though Auron was grinning, Rain took that as a sign that Auron was going to keep quiet. "So _anyway_, I met this girl at a bar restaurant thing around the Midgar Slums. I was heading back here after beating up some annoying jackasses, but that's not important. So I was just walking and then I heard a girl scream. Apparently the girl was getting harassed by three guys behind an alley. I guess it just seemed interesting so I went and beat them up. When I say, "beat" I mean throw them all into a nearby dumpster."

"So classy."

"You got that right," Rain gloated about his abilities, completely unaware of Auron's sarcastic tone.

"After that, the girl thanked me and I finally got a good look of her face."

"Was she hot?"

"Yeah, but that's beside the point. It turned out that I actually knew her from before."

"Don't tell me this is one of those destined meeting things?"

"If you don't shut it, then I'm going to throw you out that window!" Rain scowled as he cracked his knuckles to show he was serious.

"Okay, okay; I'm all ears."

With a long exaggerated sigh, Rain continued. "I think I was about ten years old, a few months after my mom died; I was already on the streets and had to look for food. Well one day, I couldn't find any food and I was dying of starvation. Sprawled out on the staircase, I thought my end had come until I noticed someone was standing next to me. She handed me a sandwich, a succulent turkey breast sandwich. I wasn't sure what I was thinking, but I just grabbed that and devoured it in three seconds. I do remember choking and the girl had to perform the Heimlich maneuver."

"So embarrassing." Auron sneered. Rain gave Auron the "evil eye" telling him to shut up.

"Anyway, I thanked the girl and told her I'd return the favor someday. I never caught her name nor did I ever saw her again till today." Auron noticed that Rain had the same nostalgic look he had when four years ago he told the story about his mom.

"That was a nice story," Auron said with complete sincerity. "So what happened when you realized that the girl you saved was _that_ girl?"

"She didn't remember me at first because you know…," Rain pointed to his spiky hair. "But she did eventually. She told me she worked at the nearby bar as a server. Apparently she was an orphan too so she had to do it to get by."

"Did you tell her that you work for Shinra?"

"Of course not. It's better that she doesn't know about my involvement with Shinra, you know?" Shinra may be popular with the upper class, but the poor and the commoners generally loathed it because Shinra discriminated against such people.

"I guess you're right, but did you get her number? You know, to talk about _normal_ non-Shinra things?" Auron asked suggestively.

"No, it's not like that; she's just my savior, that's all." Rain waved his hand to dismiss the idea.

"Whatever you say."

* * *

**1983: Outside the Shinra Building**

On his days off, Auron liked to spend his time by taking a nap on a bench near the Shinra building. The location was situated in a place where only a few people frequented. A large green oak tree provided shading for Auron, which along with the cool afternoon breeze was paradise for him. For him, it was a place where he could just relax and forget about his work in SOLDIER.

On this particular day however, there was an interloper who dared to invade Auron's peace. She was a beautiful young woman in her late teens with long blond hair tied in a ponytail. Dressed in a black business suit and white undershirt that accentuated her slim attractive figure, she approached Auron without any hesitation. Standing over him, she had a mischievous grin as she pinched his nose so tight that he couldn't breathe. Not even more than a second later, Auron opened his eyes and thrust his hand out intending to grab the offender; and make him pay for disturbing Auron's sleep.

The woman nimbly moved out of harm's way and chuckled. "Whoa there soldier boy, no need to resort to violence just because someone woke you."

"That'd be true if that person wasn't trying to suffocate me," Auron grumbled as he stared at her curiously. "What does a Turk want to come all the way here where nobody goes?"

"Nothing much, I was just exploring the area. Didn't you used to do that when you were a kid?"

"Not really, I was more of an indoors type of person."

"Hmmmm, is that so?" The woman pondered to herself, she looked like she didn't care what Auron's response was. She jumped onto a ledge overlooking the people below her and turned her head back. "By the way, your partner has been disappearing a lot lately; you wouldn't happen to know where he goes do you?"

Narrowing his eyes, Auron became suspicious of what the woman's intentions were. "I think he goes around beating up people in his quest to become the strongest man on the planet." At that, the woman burst out laughing and clutched her stomach. For some reason, he found the woman attractive when she laughed; it was as if he was seeing the actual woman behind the façade that she showed him a few minutes prior.

"You have an interesting partner you know that?" She wiped away the tears that appeared when she laughed. "Well, it's been nice chatting with you Auron, but I must get back to my duties. And also, my name is Sephiria." With a wave, she backflipped off the ledge and disappeared from view. Auron ran to the ledge and could not find any trace of Sephiria.

"You're pretty interesting yourself."

* * *

Inside the 1st Class SOLDIER equipment room, Auron was sitting on a bench as he polished Muramasa with a soft white rag before Rain walked in the room with a slight cheery look on his face.

"Yo Auron, I got something to tell you."

"What is it?" Auron asked as he stopped polishing and looked up.

"You know how I've been disappearing lately right? Well I've actually been with _that_ girl I met from last year."

"I already know," Auron said nonchalantly.

"What! How could you know? I thought I was being secretive." Rain was flabbergasted as he moved his hands in all directions.

With a sigh Auron explained, "You're the stupid one remember? I'm the smart one so of course I would've noticed." Rain's jaw dropped to the floor, clearly surprised that he wasn't as smart as he was. "It's not just me though, it seems like the Turks are suspicious at what you're doing too." Rain shocked expression immediately changed to a mix of nervous and fear.

"I can't let that happen," Rain said, almost shouting. Fortunately, the equipment room's door was closed and nobody else was inside.

"Why not?"

Rain gazed down to the floor with a guilty look on his face. "It's just that I don't want Shinra to know about her and drag her in this mess. She won't be happy here because she needs a normal life."

"Is that why you won't tell me her name?"

"Yeah, but don't get me wrong though; you're still my best friend, but the walls have ears so I have to be careful and not slip up."

"You like her that much huh?" Auron said after a long pause. Rain nodded his head, one that showed his strong desire. Scratching his head, Auron relented, "Alright, I'll keep quiet and try to cover you when I can." Rain beamed with such happiness that Auron had never seen him happier since he had known him.

"Thanks a lot man, I owe you big time." Rain held out a fist, which Auron bumped with his own.

"So tell me, what's she like?"

"She's beautiful, she nice and she can cook," Rain answered with such zeal that Auron thought that he was worshipping her. He found it amusing how one girl could change a man so easily. "She also has been making me beef stew everyday and I got to say, the best tasting I have ever tasted."

"No wonder you look like you put on some weight," Auron said as he eyed Rain's stomach. "All that protein must have had gathered all in one area."

"Hey," Rain retorted before cutting himself off. He breathed deeply before continuing, "If it was some other day, I would have been offended; but today I'm in such a jovial mood, I'll let it slide."

"Thanks a lot," Auron said in a dour sarcastic tone.

"Although, I do feel a little heavier than usual," Rain said as he pinched his stomach. "Guess I'll go work out after all so I can maintain my awesome figure." Without another word, Rain dashed out of the room leaving Auron behind to continue polishing his sword. However, instead of returning to his work, Auron thought about the possible futures for Rain the moment he got involved with a woman outside of Shinra. As far as Auron could see, there were no happy ever after future for him.

* * *

**1985: Outside the Shinra Building**

As usual, Auron could be found sleeping on a bench in a quiet area near the Shinra Building. Even after all these years, Auron still took naps between missions, trainings and meetings. As much as he enjoyed fighting strong opponents and working on missions where one screw up would lead to his death, there was nothing like a chance to relax without annoying people bothering him.

"AAAAAuuuuurroonnn!" Rain screamed at the top of his lungs as he looked around for Auron. Suddenly wide-awaked, Auron walked over to the walking loudspeaker. "Oh there you are; I got some good-" Before Rain could finish, Auron punched him in the face, sending him flying. "W-What the fuck was that for!" Rain rubbed his bruised face before standing back up.

"You woke me up from my nap, jackass!" Auron shouted with such intensity that would have stopped most people in their tracks.

"No need to get so angry over a nap, _unless_ you were dreaming about Sephiria," Rain mocked Auron before he was punched again in the face. "Okay, I think I deserved that one. I'll think twice before waking you up; so as my way of apology, I'll give you this." Rain took a can of orange soda out of his pocket and handed it to Auron.

"That's a start," Auron mumbled as he opened the can. "So what could be so important that you need to tell me while I'm sleeping," Auron asked before taking a large gulp of the soda.

"I just heard that my girlfriend is pregnant and I'm going to be a father!" Rain said excitedly. Auron found that the news was so surprising that he spit out all the soda in his mouth, drenching Rain with orange liquid.

"Okay, now _I'm_ getting angry," Rain growled as he wiped off the juice with his sleeves.

"What do you mean you going to be a father!" Auron nearly chocked on his words.

"Well, when a man and a woman like each other, they-" Rain began before he was cut off.

"I'm not asking about that, dumbass."

"It just kind of happened," Rain said with a shrug. With a sigh, Auron sat down on the bench and cradled his head in his hand.

"What are you planning to do now? You can't raise it unless you bring the girl and the baby over to Shinra."

"I know all that," Rain nearly shouted, as he suddenly grew frustrated. "For now, I'm planning to let her support the baby while I send her support from here. I…" Rain hesitated a moment before he looked up to the sky and continued. "I want to someday live with _them_, like as a family. You know how I never knew my dad right?"

"Yeah I remembered."

"I don't want to do that to my own child and I guess because of that, I now have a new dream."

"No more world domination?"

"I don't know what I was thinking when I said that," Rain laughed at the immature brat he was. "I now want to settle down with a family and die knowing that my family was happy."

"You're becoming soft, Skylight."

"Well, nothing has really changed except for my reason to fight." After Rain noticed that Auron wasn't going to say anything, he said, "I never told you why my mom named me 'Rain' did I?"

"She wasn't hoping for a girl?"

"My mother suffered a lot through her life; when she found that she was pregnant, she hoped that I would be like the rain and wash away her pain and sorrow. She said it was because of me that she was happy the last few years before she died. So not just for my family, I rather bring happiness than sorrow to people." Feeling tears welling up in his eyes, Rain stopped talking and turned to look at a tree as he rubbed his eyes inconspicuously.

After listening to Rain, Auron realized that he had seriously thought about his situation and was sincerely striving for it. Auron wasn't against it by any means, but there still remained something standing in Rain's path.

"How will you get Shinra to just let you go without any conflict?" Over the years, Auron and Rain learned that those who became part of SOLDIER are not allowed to leave with their life.

"I thought long and hard about that too; I'm planning to double my efforts and become highly respected in and out of Shinra. When I become a "hero" in people's eyes, I'm hoping that Shinra will let me go out of respect."

"That's not a sound-proof plan…, but I guess it might work," Auron said after he thought about the plan. "I might as well help you out because I know you're somehow going to screw it up."

"Thanks man and in return, I'll help you with your relationship with Sephiria."

"No thanks, you should worry about your own problems," Auron dismissed Rain's help as he pointed a finger at him.

"I was just kidding," Rain said with a laugh as he placed an arm over Auron's shoulders. "I'm suddenly hungry so let's go get some food." Rain steered Auron along as he murmured his agreement. "By the way, is there a reason why your parents named you Auron?"

"No."

* * *

**Later that Day: Shangri-La**

"So _that_ Rain is going to be a father," Sephiria said with an amused expression after Auron told her what he had learned. The two were sitting in a bar; the dim lighting, quiet elevator music and dark wooden furniture created a homely environment. Because it was located on the outskirts of Midgar and had few customers, the place was perfect to have private chats. In the corner of the room, Sephiria sat across from Auron and she was dressed in her Turks uniform. She sipped her brightly colored cocktail as she listened to Auron.

"Honestly, that news came out of nowhere. I mean, he doesn't really have any fatherly qualities and he's now going live his life for his family." Feeling a little irritated, Auron took a gulp of his beer.

"I know what you mean, but even I can tell that he's changing for the better. Besides, I think you're slightly exaggerating when you said that he has no fatherly qualities because you're just worried about him."

"Who's worried!" Auron shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. Few people turned their heads to see what disrupted their peace before resuming their talks.

"Don't try to hide it Auron, I _know_ you," Sephiria teased.

"Tch, I don't know why I tell you things," Auron murmured before taking another gulp of beer.

"It's because you can't help opening up to me, that's why," Sephiria said with a large grin.

Auron couldn't retort because he knew it was true. Even to this day, he was still surprised at what became of their relationship; not necessary a couple, but they do share something on a deeper level. At first, he only kept her close by so he could distract her from Rain's activities as well as extract useful information from her. However, he grew accustomed to her presence as she accompanied him on his missions per Shinra's orders; oftentimes she saved his life using the information she had as a Turks member. He later learned that she was ordered to "spy" on SOLDIER members because the Shinra President feared the rising power of SOLDIER.

Auron didn't know why they were attracted to each other, but it may have been the fact that they were both lonely people. Despite his tragic past, Rain at least knew the warmth of another person during his childhood, while Auron had no one. It was because of that, Rain could never truly understand Auron's loneliness and therefore he had an easier time talking with Sephiria who was in actuality a lonely person. Auron then came to trust her because he saw something in her that he could believe in.

Even though Auron liked and trusted Sephiria, he didn't want to jeopardize his friendship with Rain especially when she admitted that she knew who Rain's girlfriend was. She however had no interest in relaying the information to Shinra or the Turks because she felt it wasn't necessary; she also didn't want to destroy the trust that she had gained. When Auron told Rain what Sephiria had known, Rain also came to trust her, mainly because Auron had trusted her. True to Sephiria's words, Shinra showed no signs of discovering Rain's mysterious girlfriend.

"I want your opinion on Rain's plan," Auron asked.

"You mean about becoming a hero and leaving Shinra?" Auron nodded his head. Sephiria closed her eyes and though about Rain's situation. "I doubt everything would go as planned because Shinra had proven to be quite ruthless in the past regarding SOLDIERs."

"You think so too, huh?" Auron looked down and thought about other alternatives.

"But, Rain might pull off a miracle so who knows?" Sephiria smiled optimistically.

"I sure hope so."

"Hey, cheer up; what would Rain think if he found you acting all mopey like that?" Sephiria raised her cocktail glass. "Come on, we should support him as best we can."

"…Yeah." Auron raised his beer mug and bumped Sephiria's glass with a clink.

* * *

**1986: Shangri-La**

"What's the emergency that you called us here?" Auron asked with a look that said, "If you woke me up to tell me unimportant shit, then prepare to get your ass kicked." Rain, Auron and Sephiria were sitting in their usual corner at the bar, Shangri-La; Rain was sitting across from Auron and Sephiria. It was barely morning that dawn was a mere few minutes ago, but fortunately, the bar doubled as a café and opened early enough to accommodate the three early risers.

The call was so sudden that Auron barely had any time to change so he was in a plain t-shirt and jeans. Apparently, even Sephiria felt that it was early because she was in a sleeveless pink shirt and black denim shorts instead of the usual business suit. She had rings under her eyes and showed slight signs of anger, something that Auron hadn't ever seen before. Rain, strangely was garbed in SOLDIER gear for some reason. A few minutes ago, he had literally tossed Auron out of bed, prompting Auron to beat him up. With eyes wide and a large smile plastered on his face, Rain appeared to have forgotten the thrashing he got.

"I was actually too excited so I couldn't wait," Rain said energetically.

"What couldn't wait?" Auron mumbled.

"I just got a letter that said my child was born and he's a boy!" Both Auron and Sephiria's mouths were agape, surprised at the sudden news.

"Congratulations then!" Sephiria said cheerily, no longer fatigued.

"I know that it's good news and all, but I'd still preferred that you told me later in the day," Auron grumbled before Sephiria elbowed him in the stomach. "Ow!"

"Have you come up with a name yet?" Sephiria asked, ignoring Auron's pain.

"Actually, my girlfriend already thought up a name, which I think it's great." Rain looked around to see if anyone was listening in before he leaned over the table and whispered into Sephiria's ears.

"…That's a great name."

"What is?" Auron asked and then Sephiria whispered the name into Auron's ears. "…Your girlfriend has horrible naming sense."

"Who cares what you think as long as I think it's good," Rain said proudly with arms folded across his chest.

Auron was about to continue the insult until he remembered something. "You said you heard about your son from a letter; did your girlfriend leave Midgar?

"I didn't tell you? She left Midgar to start a new life a few months ago; we've been communicating through letters. Her letters are sent to a specific address that nobody lives and that's where I picked them up."

"No wonder I've been seeing you so much these past few months," Auron said.

"Where does she live now?" Sephiria asked.

"In a place with fresh air, nature, mount… Oh wait, I dropped too many hints so that's all I can tell you." Sephiria noticed that Rain became somber after talking about his girlfriend's new place.

"What's wrong?"

"I just realized that I wasn't there for my son's birth," Rain said as he scratched his neck. "I guess this is just the beginning of the many family events that I'll miss." An awkward silence filled the room and no one knew what else to say so they took a sip of their coffee.

"You'll become a hero and leave Shinra soon, I'm sure of it," Auron suddenly spoke.

"You really think so?" Rain's eyes sparkled and were full of hope.

"Yeah," Auron replied with a nod. Rain raised his arm and jumped in the air with a loud; "YES!" that would have probably woken up the people living within a mile radius. Rain drained his remaining coffee and said, "I'm suddenly invigorated so I'm going to go train my ass off." Rain dashed out of the café and headed to who knows where.

"Did he just leave us with the bill?" Auron asked after a few seconds later.

"…I think so."

* * *

**1989: SOLDIER Conference Room**

"What are you smiling about?" Auron asked his cheerful partner as they waited for Rosch to arrive with a new recruit. Auron swore that Rain had mood swings. Most of the time, Rain was serious, gung-ho, and a profanity spewing idiot. The other times however, he was a smiling goofball who had his head in the clouds. There was usually only one reason that would cause such a dramatic change. "Did you hear something new about your family?"

"How did you know?" Rain asked as he spun his chair to face Auron.

"Just a lucky guess."

"Well, you're right! My girlfriend just sent me pictures of my boy; it's great to see him growing up. He has my hair you know?"

"If he does, then I feel sorry for him," Auron said as he shook his head sympathetically.

"I actually feel sorry for him too, but for a different reason."

"What do you mean?"

"Some of the pictures I got were pictures of him in girl's clothes," Rain said in a sad tone.

"Come again?" Auron asked, slightly confused.

"Apparently my girlfriend thought it'd be cute if she dressed him up like a girl and take pictures. I hope he doesn't grow up with a cross-dressing hobby," Rain said, worried about his son's future.

"Do you still have those pictures?"

"No, I destroyed them once I burned them to my memory," Rain said as he pointed to his head. "I hope you don't mind because it's too risky leaving them around."

"It doesn't really bother me."

"I'll let you meet him when I get out of this place." Before Auron could answer, the door opened and in stepped Rosch and a young silver haired boy garbed in the 3rd Class SOLDIER gear. His intense serious expression reminded Auron of himself.

"I got some great new for you all; we have a new recruit that will be joining us. His name is Sephiroth and he's very strong for his age. Reminds me of when the both of you joined; so young yet so strong."

"How old are you?" Rain asked Sephiroth.

"12."

"Not much of a speaker is he?" Rain nudged Auron in the side. "Kind of like you." Auron felt that there was something strange about Sephiroth; he was giving off an aura that seemed quite frightening even to Auron. He inadvertently shuddered as he looked into Sephiroth's mystifying eyes.

"Okay, that's enough for pleasantries so how about seeing what he's capable of?" Rosch rubbed his hands in anticipation of the match.

"I'll do it!" Rain raised his arm; clearly stoked at the possibility of fighting a strong opponent.

"That's good to hear," Rosch said before he turned to Sephiroth. "Are you ready to go?"

"I've been ready for a long time," Sephiroth said coolly. The four of them walked to the SOLDIER training room where most of the SOLDIER members were waiting to see the new recruit. Sephiroth picked up a wooden katana sword and Rain picked up what appeared to be a large wooden paddle. Standing on one side of the ring, Rain was brimming with confidence while Sephiroth was composed and attentive. Auron smiled at the similarity between today and 12 years ago; instead of Sephiroth, Auron was the one standing at that very spot. He wondered how the match would turn out this time. With a loud, "Begin!" from Rosch, the two charged forward and eager to showed their skills and capabilities.

* * *

When the match was over, everyone in the room were shocked and awed at what they had witnesses. Sephiroth was lying down on the floor and Rain was sweating and panting heavily as he tried to catch his breath. While Sephiroth did not win the match, it was quite surprising that he held his own against someone as skilled as Rain. Throughout the match, Sephiroth exhibited everything that was required in a warrior: power, speed, skill, technique, and instinct. If it weren't for Rain's experience, Sephiroth would have been the clear winner. With just a little training, Sephiroth will likely become the greatest SOLDIER ever.

"You okay?" Auron asked as he placed a hand on Rain's shoulder. "Yeah; I can't believe how strong this guy was, especially at his age. It seems things are going to be very interesting."

"That's one way of putting it." Auron saw Rosch helped Sephiroth to his feet. After wiping the dirt off his body, Sephiroth walked over to Rain and held out a hand.

"That was a great match; I haven't met anyone quite as strong as you. I think I'll like it here."

"It's been a while that someone gave me such a challenge other than Auron," Rain said as he took Sephiroth's hand and shook it. With that, Sephiroth left the room to treat his injuries and Rosch walked over to Auron with smile on his face.

"I'm leaving him in your hands Auron so make him into the ultimate soldier. Shinra has high expectations for him."

"I'll do what I can," Auron murmured. He had recently been promoted to Instructor Officer of SOLDIER. His primary duty was to train the other SOLDIER members, but he was supposed to give special training to the 1st Class members. Even though Rain's abilities were on par with Auron, it was natural that Auron became the Instructor because of his vast knowledge of sword techniques and past training. "You up for a drink?" Auron asked Rain after Rosch left to find Sephiroth.

"Sounds great; nothing like a good drink after a good fight." The two walked out of the room into the hallway and saw a middle-age slim and lanky man waiting for them; barely any hair covered his already balding head. Wearing a white lab coat and large frames, he was Professor Hojo. Auron didn't like the man because he found him disturbing and creepy. Hojo however was delighted when he spotted Auron and Rain walked out of the room.

"That was very impressive Mr. Skylight," Hojo said with a creepy smile. "I had actually thought young Sephiroth would have won the match, but for you to win was quite surprising indeed." Hojo turned to Auron and moved his glasses closer to his face. "And you Mr. Kusanagi, you're quite the specimen also; I'd love to see what I can turn you into with the right 'adjustments'." After Hojo said what he wanted, he left the two of them and chuckled maniacally.

"What the hell was that?" Rain asked, perplexed at the strange man.

"Don't know and don't want to know. There's something strange about that Hojo so we should just ignore him."

"You got that right; let's get the hell out of here." Just when they were about to leave, another annoying person stopped them.

"I guess you weren't as strong as you thought were huh, Rain?" The person who spoke was Krious, the 2nd Class SOLDIER who had been making life hard for the two of them since they joined SOLDIER. His hatred only increased when the two of them made it to 1st Class while he was stuck in 2nd Class.

"Big words from someone who only challenges weak people to matches and can never become 1st Class," Rain mocked. Krious burned red with anger as he clenched his fists.

"I don't know what the director was thinking when he made you two 1st Class; someday, my time will come and the both of you will be crying in misery," Krious shouted as he quickly walked away.

"…I know, let's just ignore him and forget that he was ever here," Rain said with a laugh.

* * *

**Later that Day: Shangri-La**

"Is Sephiroth that strong?" Sephiria asked Auron; the two of them were in Shangri-La enjoying a drink together. Instead of their usual corner, they were sitting on the bar stools at the counter. As usual, there were very few customers and the young bartender paid no attention to the two of them as he busied himself with cleaning the beer mugs.

"Yes, he is _that_ strong. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself." Auron took a swig of his drink before turning to Sephiria. "What do you know about Sephiroth?"

"Not much I'm afraid. I didn't even know he existed until recently and it seems like the higher ups are keeping his background information completely classified."

"Sounds fishy." Auron narrowed his eyes as he looked into his drink.

"You know what? I think you would make a good Turks member. You're pretty smart, have good insight and good physical abilities."

"HUH!" Auron's face contorted into a mix of horrified and disgusted. "Why would I want to join the Turks?"

"Because we have surprisingly a lot of vacation time."

"That doesn't really interest me."

Sephiria's eyes reflected a hint of sadness as Auron completely turned down her suggestion. "It's just that I've been very busy these days and I couldn't spend much time with you," Sephiria said softly. It was true that Auron hadn't seen Sephiria lately. Today was the first time in three months; he had to admit that he did miss her presence. Sensing what Auron was thinking, Sephiria playfully poked Auron in the ribs. "Did you miss me while I was away?"

"No," Auron replied as he turned his head the other way because he felt that he was on the verge of blushing. "…The vacation thing sounds nice, but I…just can't."

"I know," Sephiria whispered before closing her eyes and laying her head on Auron's shoulder.

"H-Hey." Auron nearly jumped out of his stool.

"Just for a moment okay? It's been a long day."

"…Only for a moment," Auron said, giving in to Sephiria's request. It didn't take long before Auron felt comfortable having Sephiria's head on his shoulder, as if there was something missing before. The bartender looked at the two of them and smiled before returning to what he had been doing.

* * *

A/N: Not much to say, but let's continue with the second half.


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter V: The Story of the two SOLDIERs that came before Sephiroth (End)**

**1992: Northern Wutai**

The year 1992 was an important year for Shinra; it was the year that Sephiroth became a 1st Class SOLDIER and would later become the most famous SOLDIER in Shinra history. The year also marked the beginning of the Wutai War. Within the past few years, Auron and the other SOLDIERs crushed many small rebellions over the world. Just when the people had given in to Shinra's rule, Wutai continued to stand against it. Having become tired of its effort to control Wutai, Shinra declared all out war with Wutai. Sensing that he was going to do a lot of paperwork, Rosch retired early as director a few months before the war. The new director was a young man named Lazard who appeared quite capable; he had developed many strategies to take Wutai, including the current mission.

Auron and Rain were on a truck with five other infantrymen and were currently on a truck en route to a place where they will meet the agent that was assisting them. As he sat on the truck, Auron was feeling unnerved because it had been a long time since he had taken an S-Level Mission. Furthermore, it had been a long since he stepped foot on Wutai. Because of the war, he was now a traitor to his people and he wondered what they were going to say to him when he inevitably kills them.

"So this is Wutai huh?" Rain asked as he gazed at the scenery full of grass, bushes and trees. Sensing the seriousness of their mission, the usual energetic Rain was quiet and less talkative. "It's very green."

"Yeah..." The two had a silent moment before Rain asked him a serious question.

"Can you kill your own people?" Rain asked as he continued to look at the scenery.

"I can," Auron answered after only thinking about it for a moment. Neither Rain nor Auron said anything else for the remainder of the trip. After about 30 minutes, the truck came to a stop somewhere deep in a forest. Auron hopped off the truck and saw a familiar figure. "Sephiria? What are you doing here?"

"I'm the agent that was sent to help you guys," Sephiria said with a large smile.

"It's been a long time since the three of us worked together," Rain said as he jumped off the truck. "It's nice to see another familiar face here, right Auron?"

"Huh…, oh yeah," Auron was temporarily lost in thought because of Sephiria's surprised appearance. Seeing Auron's troubled face, Sephiria walked up to him and nudge him in the ribs.

"Don't tell me you're worried about me," Sephiria teased.

"I am," Auron said in a blunt manner.

"Oh…" Sephiria was quite surprised of Auron's concern because it was something that he had never voiced before; an awkward moment fell between them.

"As long as you're here, you'll protect her like a hero right?" Rain nudged Auron in the ribs.

Pushing Rain away, Auron said, "Of course I will, but anyway; what's the plan?"

With a grin, Sephiria said, "I'll lead you guys through the forest and to the enemy's base where you guys will launch a surprise attack. Sounds simple right?"

"That's good enough for me," Rain answered.

"We'll begin at nightfall, so we'll take this moment to rest up," Sephiria said as she went to sit on a nearby rock. The other infantrymen went ahead with preparations as Rain and Auron followed Sephiria and sat down.

* * *

The three friends sat around the campfire made with twigs and rocks. The sun had already begun its descent and the mission was about to begin in an hour. The infantrymen were all resting near the truck and were over a dozen meters away. The only sound emitted were from the infantrymen's distant snoring and the crackling of the fire. To conserve their energy for the upcoming mission, the three remained silent as they gazed into the fire. After a while, Rain broke the silence with a whisper.

"I've come to a decision; I'm going to quit SOLDIER after the war."

"…Are you sure? Isn't it still too soon?" Auron asked; his faced masked a silent worry.

"There's no changing my mind because my son is already 6 years old and I haven't even met him yet."

"Don't you talk with him through letters?" Sephiria asked.

"No because I don't know what I'll do if he asked me why I never met him." Auron could see the burning desperation in Rain's eyes. If he didn't do anything about it, then Rain would likely self-destruct.

"You should do that," Auron said so Rain will have the temporary hope needed while Auron came up with a concrete plan.

"You think so?" Just like what Auron thought, Rain regained some of the hope he had lost over the past few months. It also seemed to have invigorated him for the mission. "All right, I'm going to give it my all and become a great hero!"

"Before that though, you should get some rest, hero," Auron said. Stretching his arms, Rain hunkered down on a rock and closed his eyes. Within seconds, Auron and Sephiria heard slow breathing sounds from Rain. "Guess he had a lot on his mind that he couldn't sleep."

"I kind of understand what he's feeling," Sephiria said as she stared at the sleeping Rain. "The desire to have a family gives you a wonderful warm feeling, especially to those who never really knew their own."

"Really?" Auron asked with a slight bewildered expression. "I never knew a "real" family and I don't particularly care about desiring one."

"It's because you never think about it. You pushed all thoughts about your own family into the back of your mind as you concentrate on other things like SOLDIER. Besides, Rain and I are already kind of like family to you so you don't ask for more. Rain however, seeks a different kind of family, a more traditional one." Auron thought about what Sephiria had said. He didn't like the idea of being accused of running away from something, but her words seemed to have resonated with him.

"What about you? What about your family?"

"Me?" Sephiria was surprised at the sudden personal question. "…I never knew my parents and I was raised by the Shinra Company to become part of the Turks. I guess that's why I find the desire to create a family with a significant other appealing." While Sephiria was speaking, Auron noticed that she was feeling lonelier than usual.

"You never told me that before."

"It's because you never asked."

"I just thought that you didn't want to talk about it, that's why you never mentioned it."

"You still have a ways to go before you understand the female mind," Sephiria laughed before her eyes change into a seductive tigress. "But you know, I like you just the way you are. Behind that angry face of yours is a kind person who can't help, but worry about others." Sephiria leaned in and gave Auron a tender kiss on the lips before moving her head back; a slight flush painted her pretty face. Expressionless, Auron turned his head to look at nothing in particular.

"…If it's with you, I will consider creating a family," Auron said softly. A little surprised by Auron's words, Sephiria said nothing, but smiled before kissing him on the cheek.

* * *

Night had officially arrived and all of the Shinra employees are awake and prepared for the mission. The infantrymen were garbed with assault rifles, ammo clips, and battle knives along with their usual uniform. Rain and Auron dressed in the 1st Class SOLDIER uniform and the only weapons they had were their swords, Buster Blade and Muramasa. Sephiria, like the other Turks always dressed in a business suit. While apparently unarmed, Auron knew that she kept a stiletto underneath her sleeve.

Auron looked over the people under his command and when he thought they were ready, he gave a nod to Sephiria; indicating that she should begin leading the way. Wordlessly, Sephiria walked into the deep dark forest; the only lighting came from a tiny flashlight that Sephiria carried. Even though the sun had only disappeared a few minutes ago, the air became cold enough that the Shinra men could see their breath. Scared to be left alone in the eerie dark forest, the men followed Sephiria step-by-step; over twigs, through bushes and under branches. Sephiria for her part moved with such control and purpose that she appeared to have memorized the invisible path.

After about 45 minutes of walking through the forest, Rain and Auron stopped in their tracks. Sephiria and the infantrymen looked at the two with confusion. "Do you hear that?" Auron whispered faintly.

"Yeah," Rain answered in the same low tone. "I feel that we're not alone." Auron and Rain moved their heads around to discern the mysterious presences. The infantrymen and Sephiria grew extremely worried as their heartbeat with continuous loud thumps; loud enough that it could be heard a mile away.

"What is it?" Sephiria asked while holding her breath.

Auron closed his eyes to feel for the presence until he finally knew where the mysterious presences were. "MOV-" Auron screamed, but it was too late as a thunderous boom shook the trees. The next thing he knew, there was a large gaping hole in Sephiria's chest as her eye went wide with fright and surprise. The others went into a defensive formation while Auron ran to Sephiria as soon as she collapsed onto the ground and held her in his arms. "Sephiria! SEPHIRIA!" Auron screamed with such intensity that could have shaken the earth. His tears fell onto Sephiria's face that had become cold and pale; her eyes were unfocused as she spewed dark blood out of her mouth. With a painful half smile, she took out her stiletto and slowly raised her arm; touching Auron's cheek.

"I…lo…ve…y…ou." After breathing her last word, her arm fell to the ground and the light in her eyes distinguished under the dark night. Auron took hold of the stiletto and continued to hold her as countless more tears fell on her face.

"Get out of the way Auron!" Rain suddenly screamed, but Auron showed no signs of moving until he was forcefully pushed away. He heard more of the same loud boom as he turned around and saw that Rain had been shot in the arm by a couple of rifle shells. With great effort, Auron dropped Sephiria and moved to defend Rain from the attackers. Taking a quick peek at Rain's wounds, Auron saw that Rain had a few punctures in his arm and blood was streaming out of them.

By then, over 100 flashlights lighted the surrounding vicinity, barely illuminating the people around them. Auron saw that the attackers were Wutai warriors, armed with many weapons such as guns, blades, and shurikens; their flashlights were attached to their shoulders. They all wore the same black baggy pants, tunics, shoes with straps, and a mask that concealed the lower portion of their faces (they look like ninjas). "We fell into a fucking trap," Rain panted as he tried to ignore the pain and kept his good arm firmly gripped onto the blade, while the bad arm was only able to exert half its strength.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" A familiar voice rang through the air. Turning to the source, Auron and Rain saw a man walked out of the shadows; clapping his hands with great enthusiasm.

"Krious, what the hell are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Sephiroth?" Rain shouted with confusion. Upon hearing Rain's question, Krious' face lit up with ecstatic humor.

"Don't you get it? I screwed you guys over; I told the Wutais what you guys were doing and where you'd be. I even gave them Shinra's precious weapons. Now look at you, trapped like mice with nowhere to go; how the mighty have fallen!"

"You fucking asshole, why did you betray us?" Auron screamed at Krious. At Auron's allegation, Krious stopped laughing and looked at Auron with furious insane eyes.

"Like I give a shit about Shinra! Those fuckers don't know anything about true talent! To think they would rather promote you brats to 1st Class than myself! It was only natural that they got what was coming."

"You betrayed us for such a retarded reason?" Rain shouted.

"Retarded?" Krious fumed with silent anger as he slowly shook his head. "I don't want to waste my breath on you any longer." Krious gave a hand signal to a dozen Wutai warriors, which prompted them to begin firing at the Shinra men. With their quick reflexes, Auron and Rained blocked the bullets with their swords. However, the infantrymen were not as skilled and therefore were gutted with countless bullets.

"Shit!" Rain hissed as he continued to block the bullets. Rain and Auron were back to back, as they slowly moved in a circle to cover each other from the bullets. After about five minutes of continuous rain of bullets, the Wutai warriors stopped their attack because they had run out of bullets. Taking the chance for a breather, Auron turned to Rain to check on his condition.

"You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Rain answered, his breathing grew more rapid than before. "I guess I wasn't fast enough with one bad arm."

"How bad are you?" Auron asked as he continued to watch the enemy, he was alarmed by Rain's response.

"Don't worry, only a few got me in the leg and arm," Rain answered with a chuckle.

Krious was surprised that the two had survived the bullet assault, but his surprised quickly became impatience. "Just go attack them directly! You have a hundred men don't you?" Without waiting for further orders, the Wutai warriors drew their blades and charged at Auron and Rain.

"Here comes the climax; you ready, Auron?" Rain asked, a hint of anticipation in his voice.

"It's now or never so give it your all!" When the first Wutai warrior came within five feet of Auron, he drew his Muramasa and cut the warrior in half with lightning quick speed. With his good right arm, Rain swung his blade in a wide arc and cut five Wutais. Auron deflected an oncoming sword thrust and thrust his own blade into the Wutai's stomach. Rain kicked a Wutai in the stomach, knocking him into another one before Rain simultaneously cut off their heads in one clean swoop. Before he realized it, a shuriken flew into his chest and a piercing pain spread throughout his torso.

"Damn!" Trying to ignore the new pain, Rain gathered his energy and slammed the blade onto the ground; a large beam of light burst out of the blade into the oncoming enemies and devoured them.

Auron had heard Rain's cry and knew that he had been injured, but Auron ignored it because it wouldn't do him any good to drop his defense; especially when 10 Wutais were already attacking him. Auron would have normally took the ten down with relative ease if he could move around, but he couldn't because it would leave Rain's back open to the enemy. With limited mobility, Auron held his ground and attacked with rapid thrusts on the enemies starting from the left to right. However, he wasn't quick enough as he was stabbed in the side by an enemy. Grabbing the man who stabbed him, Auron used him as a shield while he attacked the next 10 Wutais attacking him.

While Auron had a hard enough time as it is, Rain was suffering from other factors that impeded his abilities to fight. The arm injury from before had become numb and unresponsive forcing Rain to fight with one arm. The various stabs and cuts that the Wutais had successfully connected had begun to take its toll on Rain's body. Feeling sluggish, he managed to cut down the two Wutais in front of him, but he failed to defend from a hidden Wutai that came at him from the side. With a clean cut, Rain's bad arm flew off leaving a bloody red stump. "Hsssssss," Rain hissed through clenched teeth before kicking the attacker away.

Sensing something was wrong, Auron turned his head for a second. However, that was all it took for a Wutai to get within Auron's defense. Trying to cut of Auron's head, the Wutai swung his blade and Auron tried to move away. He was not fast enough as the blade cut his right eye. Blinded by darkness in his right side, Auron punched the Wutai with his left arm. Taking one moment to look at the remaining numbers, Auron decided they would die if they kept this up.

"Rain, we're getting out of here through the way we came in!" Auron shouted.

"No complaints here; I'm just about done."

"Then go now, I'll cover your back." Rain ran in the direction of where their truck was and Auron followed closely behind. Noticing the loss of Rain's arm for the first time, Auron's hatred for Krious dramatically increased. As Rain attacked the people in front of him, Auron heard Krious giving out orders to chase after them. Luckily, Rain found an opening and ran through the enemy lines; despite their injuries, the two 1st Class SOLDIERs moved like the wind.

After 10 minutes of running, the distance between the SOLDIERs and the Wutais had grown to 200 feet. Auron could have gotten farther, but he kept the same pace as the injured Rain, who had gotten slower in the past few minutes. Auron was about to say something until Rain abruptly stopped.

"What are you doing?" Auron asked with a mixture of confusion and worry.

"You go on ahead; I'm staying here," Rain answered with surprising calmness.

"What are you talking about?" Auron became bewildered at Rain's decision to stay behind.

"I can't go any further. We both know that you could easily get away if I didn't come with you."

"If you're staying, then I'm staying as well," Auron shouted, his confusion turning into anger.

"Just listen for a moment," Rain said as he tried to calm Auron down. "You were always smarter than me so I listened to you for all those years. You always thought things through while I always acted on emotions. Now you are the one who is acting on emotions so I have to be the logical one. If you stay with me, we both die; there's no other possibility. If I follow you, I die anyway because it's hard enough for me as it is. I lost a lot of blood and could barely stand on my feet. So if you leave me, at least you'll survive and continue living another day; it is my wish that you live."

Rain pleaded with Auron with such sincerity that he had to think about what he was doing. No matter how he thought about it, Rain was right. There was only one logical choice even though it would mean turning his back on his best friend. His mind continued to waver until he saw Rain's legs shaking with fear. Auron realized that Rain was completely aware of what would happen when Auron leaves him, but he was telling Auron to do it despite of his fear. Never had Auron seen such strength of courage in his life so he decided to honor his friend's last wish. "Okay," Auron relented with great effort.

"152F of Post 2."

"…What's that?"

"That's where I get my letters from. Tell _her_ that I have to break my promise and…I'm sorry."

"…I understand."

"Thank you," Rain said with a smile before turning around so his back was facing Auron. "Remember to live your life with honor."

"What?"

"You said you gave up Bushido all those years ago, but I think it's a pretty great way to live." The two shared a moment of silence before they heard voices from the opposite direction.

"You should go now," Rain said with his back still facing Auron.

"…Give em hell," Auron said before he ran toward the truck that had brought them to this living hell. As he ran away, not once did Auron turn around because he knew that his resolve would waver should he look back. After a few seconds, Auron heard countless screams, shouts and the banging of blades meeting another. The only thing he felt as he ran for his life was the throbbing in his right eye and the burning desire for revenge.

* * *

**A Few Days Later: Auron's Office in Midgar**

The past few days had been the worse days of Auron's life. Not only did he lose the people he cared about the most, but he also lost the small dream that had been sprouting within him. His eye injury left him permanently blind in his right eye; a large red scar remained where the injury had occurred. After Auron had gotten to safety, he had ordered a SOLDIER unit to go to the battle site. When they got back, they told him that they found the bodies of the Shinra Infantrymen, Sephiria and Rain. The Buster Sword had disappeared from the scene.

Sitting with his head down, Auron waited for news about Krious' whereabouts. After a few moments, Auron heard a knock at the door and in walked Sephiroth; wearing a black coat that was his custom SOLDIER uniform.

"Did you call for me?" Sephiroth knew why he was here, but he wanted to gauge Auron's mental status so he acted the obedient subordinate.

"Do you know where Krious is?" Auron asked, his head still looking down at the ground.

"Yes."

"Tell me."

"You're too emotional to take him down now; I'll take care of it."

"I _can_ control my emotions and I will not let it be a hindrance," Auron said as he finally looked up at Sephiroth.

"…Fine," Sephiroth relented. "I'm only telling you out of respect for you and Master Rain."

* * *

**Five Days Later: A Base in Northern Wutai**

Krious had been sighted at a base near the Northern border of the Wutai Continent. After finding his location, Auron assembled a squad of 10 SOLDIERs and 30 infantrymen. Auron knew that was all he needed to exact his revenge.

Under the dead of night, Auron's group had snuck to the base undetected. The only thing standing between him and revenge was a large twenty-foot tall red gate. After giving his men a signal, Auron took his large blade and sliced opened the door, a loud siren echoed throughout the base to warn the Wutai soldiers of intruders. Auron's squad quickly moved into action and confronted the first wave of Wutais. As for Auron, he moved down the center of the base because he had a feeling that was where Krious was located.

As Auron walked to the center, he walked in a slow, but calm manner. It was all he could do keep his temper from flaring and getting out of control. As he walked toward the center, shurikens flew at him from all directions. With very little effort, he swatting them away like flies, his destination unaltered. Five Wutais came up to him and simultaneously attacked him from all sides. Auron quickly stepped forward and elbowed one of them in the face before Auron grabbed him. Using the Wutai as a blunt weapon, Auron spinned around and knocked back the other Wutais. After throwing the Wutai away, Auron took his blade and killed all of them with one quick motion.

Turning toward the building, Auron resumed his march. Trying to stop Auron, countless Wutais attacked him, but they were no match for the SOLDIER. It wasn't like before in the forest where Auron's movements were restricted and the lighting was poor. Here, he could move anywhere he wanted to effortless evade and the lighting was almost as clear as day so he could see incoming attacks. No longer disadvantaged, Auron cut down any person standing in his path without receiving any damage. Even though the Wutais were highly trained and skilled, they are no match for the powerful 1st Class SOLDIER.

After 30 minutes of countless interruptions, Auron made it to the center of the base. Standing there was Krious himself; a large smile plastered on his insane face. In his right arm was the large Buster Sword.

"Well look who it is; the great Auron himself has paid me a special visit. I guess you want revenge for your dead partner and girlfriend, don't cha?" A maniacal laugh erupted from Krious' mouth. "But too bad, you're going to join them…in hell!" Krious snapped his fingers and 10 Wutais appeared near him.

Upon seeing Krious' face, the anger that had accumulated inside Auron was unleashed. Driven by a controlled rage, Auron charged his energy and swung his blade in a horizontal arc; creating a powerful surge of wind that ripped the Wutais to shreds.

Unfazed by his comrades' death, Krious leapt forward and raised his blade. Before Krious could do anything else, Auron had already moved in and sliced off Krious' right arm; his laughing face quickly turned into one of fear and pain as he registered the loss of his arm.

"AAAHHHHHHHHH!" Krious shouted loudly as he rolled around on the ground gripping the stump that was his arm. The countless drops of tears that streamed down his face paralleled the countless drops of blood that streamed out of his arm. Ignoring Krious' wailing, Auron picked him up by the collar and punched him hard in the face; the impact left Krious' nose collapsed within his face.

"You call yourself a SOLDIER when you can't even handle the pain of losing your arm? 1st Class? Wake up; you are only trash," Auron breathed into Krious' face before slamming him down into the ground and a SOLDIER came up to Auron with a report.

"Sir, we have almost taken complete control of the base; we await further orders."

"Kill them all," Auron said without hesitation. "And tie _him_ to a post. Remember to gag his mouth too so he won't bite his tongue." With a salute, the SOLDIER left to find rope and a rag. He was back in no time and dragged the crying Krious to a pillar.

"P-Please, have mercy on me," Krious cried in desperation.

"I'm not going to let you die easily; you're going to die a _very_ slow and painful death." Krious' cries became muffled as the SOLDIER stuffed a dirty rag into Krious' mouth. Auron picked up the Buster Sword and without looking back, walked away.

* * *

**1993: A Southern Wutai Village**

One year had already passed since the beginning of the Wutai War. After Auron's devastating assault on a Wutai Base a year ago, the Wutais learned from their mistakes and substantially fortified their bases and villages. It became very hard for Shinra to gain ground in the war because the Wutais had proven to be great adversaries. Their skills are top notch and their numbers greatly outclass Shinra's own men. With the loss of Rain, SOLDIER's power had weakened overall. Even with Auron and Sephiroth on the frontlines, it was not enough to turn the tide of war. To increase the war effort, Shinra ordered the Turks to scout more people for SOLDIER. Two promising new recruits were Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos who would eventually become famous 1st Class members.

Even though a year had passed since Auron had gotten his revenge, he felt that nothing had changed. When he found the mailbox that Rain used to receive letters from his family, the grief he tried to forget, had returned. Taking note of the return address on the letters, he wrote a letter to the family informing them that Rain had died honorably. After that, he burned the letters so there was no trace of it left for Shinra to discover.

As Auron continued fighting in the war, his grief turned into anger. He became a walking empty shell and killed his enemies without any hesitation so he didn't have to think about anything else. The Wutais feared him as the One-Eyed Dragon. Now, he was fighting a battle to claim a village in Southern Wutai during the late hours of the night.

The village was like any other Wutai village, full of unique structured houses, buildings and architecture. A small stream of water ran through the village; bridges were built over the streams. Lying around him were dozens of Wutai soldiers; Auron had killed them all. With all of his enemies dead, Auron stood still as he stared across the horizon until he heard the sound of a crying girl. He walked to the sound and under a bridge, he saw a woman cradling in her arms a child of no more than two years old. She was trying to cover the child's mouth so Auron couldn't hear the child's crying, but it was useless as Auron had found them. He raised his sword intending to kill both of them, but he was distracted by a loud voice that rang from behind him.

"STOP!" A man shouted. He was dressed in a brown cloak, tunic, silver gauntlets and leggings. His large scruffy brown beard exuded great wisdom. "It's about time I found you."

"…You know who I am?" Auron's face drew a blank expression.

"Don't you recognize me?" After looking at the man for about a minute, Auron had an idea who it might be based on his beard.

"Zangan?"

"That's right, your older cousin." Zangan had belonged to a famous clan known for their martial arts. Zangan and Auron's mother were sisters thus making them cousins, but Auron had only met Zangan on a few occasions.

"To think we would meet like this," Zangan said with a look filled with sorrow as he looked at the dead bodies. "Not only had you abandoned the people of Wutai, but you have also abandoned your honor." At the mention of "honor", Auron's face contorted into anger.

"Honor? What can honor do for me? Could honor have saved my friends' lives? Could honor make me stronger?" Auron spewed venomous words at Zangan who only gave Auron a disappointed look.

"Honor cannot solve everything, but it can at least relieve the massive anger you are carrying if you choose to walk a better path in life. The way you are now, you are just bringing needless wanton destruction."

"SHUT UP!" Auron screamed at Zangan, his anger threatened to explode at any second.

"I guess I have to smack some sense into you. It's been a while since I've fought a worry opponent." Zangan lifted his arms and moved into a fighting stance.

With a mad dash of speed, Auron had already charged at Zangan. He swung his blade with all his might that created small gusts of wind. Zangan effortless moved aside and quickly jabbed Auron in the face. The punch shortly stunned Auron as he made another powerful slash at Zangan. Like before, Zangan moved out of the way and roundhouse kicked Auron in the side. The force of the kick knocked Auron into a wall, which broke upon impact.

"Is this the same Auron that matched my own skill when he was merely 10 years old?" Zangan mocked at the Auron climbing out of the wreckage; a few noticeable cuts appeared on his angry face. "Looks like you're ready for round two!" Zangan put up his arms and returned to his stance.

Wiping away the small trickle of blood on his lip, Auron jumped high into the air and did an overhead cut. Zangan quickly moved below Auron and did a jumping punch into Auron's stomach. Because of Auron's abs of steel, the punch did not do much. While they were still in the air, Auron punched Zangan with his free arm, but Zangan knocked it away and grabbed Auron's shirt before slamming him into the ground.

When the two made contact with the ground, Zangan followed up with a downward kick to Auron's face. Barely reacting in time, Auron moved to the side and countered with a cut from below; Zangan jumped to the side and evaded the attack. Unrelenting, Auron thrust his blade at Zangan, but it once again missed him by a mile. Auron continued the assault as he unleashed a fury of cuts, but Zangan swiftly evaded all of them.

"Come on Auron, you're just swinging your blade wildly! What happened to your impressive discipline and technical prowess?" Zangan stopped moving and smoothed out his scruffy beard. "I'm very disappointed-" Before Zangan could finish, Auron was already on him with a quick horizontal cut. Caught off guard, Zangan could not evade and had to block the attack using his gauntlets. The difference between the strength was obvious as Zangan was beginning to lose his balance. Auron's eyes glowed brighter as he exerted more force into the blade. "To think you were this strong…" Zangan pulled his arms away from the blade and bent backwards as Auron's blade went over him.

At the sudden loss of opposing force on his blade, Auron pushed his sword too far and could not defend himself from Zangan's barrage of punches. Zangan ended his combo with a powerful kick to Auron's chest, which knocked him into another wall. "Are you finished?" Auron asked as he stood back up after the assault.

"Are all SOLDIERs as tough as you?" Zangan shook his hands to relieve the tension in them.

"You're as strong as I remember, but it won't be so simple now," Auron said with a smirk and his eyes glowed brighter than ever. He took a deep breath before slowly breathing out. Unlike before, his eyes became serious and determined. Readying his blade, he did another charging thrust at Zangan. Similar to before, Zangan stepped out of the way to the right. Anticipating that, Auron simultaneously swung his sword toward Zangan's new position. Surprised by the sudden follow up, Zangan had barely managed to jump over the attack. Once again, Auron anticipated the evasion and made a quick swing toward Zangan, which he managed to evade within a hair's width. With his great concentration, Auron was able to judge where Zangan would move to and was able to attack Zangan the moment he moved to a different location. Auron's attack grew faster and faster until eventually, Zangan did not have time to evade and had to block the sword's attack. However, Zangan was quickly overpowered this time and Auron's blade knocked Zangan into a wall.

Unlike Auron, Zangan suffered bigger injuries from being knocked into a wall with such brutal force. "I guess I miscalculated your abilities even when clouded by anger," Zangan panted. "I guess I have to stop you now before you get anymore shots in." Zangan stomped the ground and pulled his right arm slightly back as he drew energy into it. A large glowing ball of white light covered his right arm. Noticing the power of the attack, Auron raised his sword and drew energy into it; the earth shook violently under the two source of energy. After a few seconds, Zangan dashed forward and extended his right arm forward. Auron then made a downward cut, which released the gathered energy into a giant white wave that collided with Zangan's punch. At first, the two attacks were even as no side gained any ground, but Auron's wave seemed to have gotten stronger with every second until it engulfed Zangan's attack and sent him flying 30 feet away into another wall.

After the smoke cleared, Auron saw that his attack destroyed everything in its path for 30 feet. Zangan was no longer moving, but Auron could hear the man groaning. Ignoring Zangan, Auron walked back to the woman and the child. They had both been frozen with fear that they didn't move at all during the match. Auron raised his sword up and looked at the crying child. He waited a few seconds before he swung the sword down.

"_You said you gave up Bushido all those years ago, but I think it's a pretty great way to live."_

"_So not just for my family, I rather bring happiness than sorrow to people."_

"_But you know, I like you just the way you are. Behind that angry face of yours is a kind person who can't help, but worry about others."_

Auron stopped his attack a few inches away from the child's head as many past thoughts swarmed his mind. The anger he had in his body had begun to cool down before it disappeared. Replacing the anger was a new sense of calm that he had forgotten over a year ago. Tears flowed out of his eyes and fell down onto the cracked earth. Blowing a large amount of air out of his mouth, he raised his sword and attached it to his back. "Go," Auron said softly. The woman was now confused and bewildered at what happened that she remained frozen on the sport. "GO!" Auron growled in a louder voice. This time, the woman snapped out of her shock and picked up the child.

"Come Lady Yuffie, we must go now," the woman said to the child, her voice still showing signs of shock. Auron watched as the woman and child left the vicinity before he heard Zangan's voice from behind.

"It seems you have regained your original composure," Zangan said as he gripped his right arm. "Have you decided to live your life with honor again?"

"If I didn't, I would tarnish my friend's name who believed in it; and… the name of someone important to me who believed I was a good person."

"They sound like good people."

"They are," Auron said with a smile.

"Even though we are still enemies, I look forward to fighting you the next time we meet." Zangan placed a hand on Auron's shoulder before he walked away. Even though Auron still had some anger left within him, he was beginning to find peace.

* * *

**1994: Auron's Office**

After Auron had fought with Zangan a year ago, he had stopped the destruction that had made him greatly feared by his enemies. He continued to fight the war and struck down anyone who stood in his way, but he no longer attacked civilians or innocent bystanders. The honor that he had abandoned all those years ago had changed him into a greatly respected person. No longer was he respected only for his strength and skill, but he was now respected as a great leader and person.

Leaning back in his chair with his arms folded over his head, Auron looked at the Buster Sword standing by the wall; Sephiria's stiletto was lying on the table. He was lost in his own thoughts when his door suddenly opened. Rotating his chair, Auron saw Angeal walked into the room. Angeal was now wearing the 1st Class SOLDIER uniform. "Congratulations on becoming 1st Class."

"Thank you Master Auron; I couldn't have done it without you." Angeal's sight shifted to the Buster Sword before turning back to Auron.

"Don't you always do that when you come into my office?" Auron asked with a laugh.

"I just find the sword _fascinating_," Angeal said, embarrassed by his habit.

"Do you know who owned that sword?"

"I heard that your friend wielded it before he died." Auron didn't say anything in response, but decided to ask Angeal something else.

"Why don't you try holding it?"

"Really?" Angeal's eyes lit up like a child on his birthday. After Auron nodded his head, Angeal went over and picked up the sword; slowly moving it up and down. "It's pretty heavy."

"That's surprising coming from a 1st Class SOLDIER. It should be light as a feather to you."

"That's not what I meant," Angeal said as he shook his head. "It just feels heavy for some inexplicable reason." After hearing that, Auron smiled at his subordinate's senses.

"Do you have any dreams, Angeal?" For a moment, Angeal was at a loss for words.

"…I want to become a hero to protect people from harm," Angeal said with a hint of embarrassment. Auron laughed aloud when he heard Angeal's dream.

"My friend had a similar dream of becoming a hero as well. The reason why you felt that the sword was heavy because it's full of my friend's unfulfilled dreams." Auron paused for a moment before he continued. "You should take it."

"What?"

"I'm not suitable to keep the sword because I don't have any dreams of my own, but you do. I'm sure my friend would be happy if you would carry _his_ dreams with your own. Besides, you haven't ordered your custom blade have you?" Angeal shook his head and held the Buster Sword up high.

"The dreams within this blade…, I accept."

"That's good to hear; and remember, live your life with honor so you don't tarnish the name of your predecessor."

"…I will."

* * *

From that point on, Auron continued to fight in the Wutai War alongside his fellow SOLDIERs. He had met Zangan countless times on the battlefield, which ended up becoming a sparring session between the two. As the war was reaching its end, Auron had decreased his participation in the war because it became evident that Shinra would win and that Auron's presence was no longer required. Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth were enough to make the final additions on Shinra's eventual victory. Eventually, Auron decided to quit SOLDIER altogether, the year before the war ended in 2000.

On the day that he decided to quit, Auron walked into Lazard's office and said he was going to quit. Lazard tried to persuade Auron about reconsidering, but he had failed in the end. After telling Auron that he was allowed to leave because of the many years he spent as a loyal SOLDIER, Lazard said that Auron would be under surveillance until the day he died. Dismissing Lazard's concern with a wave of his hand, Auron left Shinra without telling anyone else. At first, everybody was surprised about Auron's sudden departure, but they grew to accept the fact that Auron was retiring because of his long years of service.

Upon retirement, Auron first traveled through Wutai to check the damage. Many people hated him and called him a traitor, but he didn't care because it was the path he chose. When he visited his home, he was reunited with his mother, father, and little brother. Surprisingly, they did not hate him, but actually welcomed him home. He asked why they didn't hate him and his brother said, "it's because we're a family." For the first time in years, Auron cried and realized that he didn't understand his family at all. Even though they wanted him to stay, Auron had to refuse because he believed he didn't deserved it. He was however, willing to accept his brother's offer of living in a house that was owned by the family. The house was located far south of Wutai where few people ever ventured.

Auron never looked for Rain's family even though he knew where they lived. His guilt prevented him from ever meeting them. Furthermore, he didn't want to cast suspicion should Shinra follow him to the family's home. Auron decided that he would cease his travels and live out the rest of his life in his home in Southern Wutai.

While living in his new home, Auron kept his ears opened and heard about Angeal's death. He was saddened by the death of his subordinate, but he knew that Angeal lived the life he wanted. Auron then heard that the new owner of the Buster Sword was Zack Fair. Auron had met him once, but Auron did not know anything else about him. However, Auron trusted Angeal's judgment in handing down the sword to the boy and hoped that the boy would walk the same path as his predecessors.

Auron had also heard a lot about Sephiroth such as his mysterious death in 2002. Then he had apparently resurrected in 2007 and killed President Shinra. Afterwards, Sephiroth threatened to destroy the world with a meteor, but a group of people stopped him. Auron was very surprised to hear that Sephiroth had become evil, but he was even more surprised to hear that he was defeated in combat. While he was in SOLDIER, Auron would have never thought that Sephiroth could be defeated. He wanted to meet the people responsible for Sephiroth's death, but he thought that he would never get the chance if he stayed in one place all the time. However, he was proven wrong the day that Cloud Strife delivered a package to him.

* * *

A/N: Well that was a long flashback. I don't know how long it took to read it, but it took me weeks to write it. I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.


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